Oaxacan Wood Carving Black Panther Eleazar Morales Mexican Folk Art Alebrije

  

Slinking panther - by Eleazar Morales. This handsome panther was skillfully carved, painted and signed by Eleazar Morales of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Eleazar is one of the most creative and original carvers/painters from Oaxaca and his style is to make very realistic animals, both in carving and with his painting style. Although it doesn't show up well in the photos, Eleazar interspersed gold colored paint along the back of the panther, adding to its elegance. While many carvers make only a few different animals, Eleazar makes a huge variety, specializing in sea creatures, cat family and African animals. Including the removable tail, this figure is 14" long, 5" high and 4 1/2 deep.

A bit of history about Oaxacan woodcarvings. Oaxacan wood carvings, often called "alebrijes", (al-ah-bree-hayz), are a new and unique art form that originated in Oaxaca, Mexico around 40-50 years ago and are gradually becoming known and collected throughout the world. The extraordinary Disney/PIXAR movie, "COCO", which featured alebrijes, has now introduced these amazing spirit-animals to millions of people.

The first alebrijes came about in the 1930's, with the Mexican paper mache artist, Pedro Linares, making figures from his dreams - and he called them "alebrijes". Then in the 1970's Manuel Jimenez, a wood carver from Oaxaca, began replicating these colorful creatures that were full of personality as carved and painted wooden figures. As the popularity of these figures spread, many other people in Manuel's village and other nearby villages began making them.

Today approximately 200 families in the Oaxaca Valley are making these fantastic wood carvings. The item "OAXACAN WOOD CARVING BLACK PANTHER ELEAZAR MORALES MEXICAN FOLK ART ALEBRIJE" is in sale since Wednesday, July 14, 2021.

This item is in the category "Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Latin American\Mexico\Folk Art". The seller is "oaxacadog" and is located in Berkeley, California. This item can be shipped to United States.

1. Culture: Mexican
2. Featured Refinements: Oaxacan Wood Carving