Majestic Owl OAXACAN WOOD CARVING OAXACA ALEBRIJE by Armando Jimenez

Description

New folk art Sculpture by Armando Jimenez and Antonia Alejandro.  Majestic Owl with Wings spread out showing the flight of this beautifully decorated albrejis.
about 9 inches in height wing span 9.25 inches
MYSTICAL FIGURES OF OAXACA
This adorable wood carving has all the curiosity and whimsey that we love in Mexican folk art.  Armando Jimenez is the grandson of the master carver Manual Jimenez, who is credited with creating the whole movement of the Oaxacan wood carvings or alebrijes. Armando works next door to his brother Moises and the carvings of both of these very talented men  are in high demand.  What a great way to support a living legacy and an art form that has been passed down within the family Armando and Moises pieces, while adhering to the traditional painting style of their family, show incredible range of creativity in the whimsical animals depicted and animals often not naive to oaxaca.
Armando and his wife Antonio carry on this tradition of sensitively observed naturalistic
carving and colorful and restrained painting mastered by their grandfather. Steeped into traditional folktales and belief Armando and Antonio improvise themes and motifs from the region’s diverse Indian tribes.  Folkways have intermingled alongside Spanish ideologies as the population overlapped while still uniquely remaining intact.
Construction of Creatures from Dreams
Hand carved from wood and then hand painted. These are not resin copies.
They are conceived as creatures from dreams,
carved
with machete and smaller knives from copal
wood
and intricately painted.
MEANING OF THIS ALEBRIJES
Owls- These nocturnal birds found at the entrance of caves were often associated with the underworld as caves were thought to lead to. Perceived as omens or messengers between humans and the divine the owl is considered the pre-columbian equivalent of an angel.