Oaxacan Wood Carving Mario Castellanos Snakes Oaxaca Mexican Folk Art Alebrije

  

GORGEOUS MUSEUM QUALITY DOUBLE COILED RATTLESNAKES OAXACA WOOD CARVING BY THE AMAZING MASTER CARVER MARIO CASTELLANOS AND HIS WIFE REINA RAMIREZ. FULL OF INTRICACY AND DETAIL!! THE ONE PIECE INTERTWINED SNAKES CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED BY A TRUE MASTER CARVER! This amazing snake wood carving is one of my favorites ever, and it is really difficult to part with! Such detail in the carving, such intricacy capped off perfectly with a clean and cheerfully bold painted design!

Mario Castellanos is one of the most incredibly talented and sought after Oaxacan wood carvers out there! His work is just fantastic, filled with intricate movement and character. He is able to carve figures that very few would even try. His beginning claim to fame was his lizards and iguanas, all carved out of one single piece of copal wood, and with the amazing coiled tails that many other artists have tried to copy.

But modern day has seen him expand his talents to a wide variety of animal figures, all with an incredible level of detail and precision! We are so proud to carry his work! Mario is a true artistic genius, whose work is full of whimsy and creativity. His work truly is a level above most carvers. This is such a high quality carving that you almost cannot believe that it was hand carved!

Only a master artist could achieve this level of detail out of a solid piece of Copal wood. There is such beauty in this piece, yet it still captures the power of the awesome snakes. Single coiled snakes are hard enough to carve, but Mario has gone even further with this one, and featured two rattlesnakes coiled and intertwined together.

And the only removable piece to the carving are the two tongues. Then combine it with the bold and delightful paint design that is done by Mario's wife Reina Ramirez, while still paying tribute to their Zapotec ancestors though the patterns... Then you have near perfection! The piece was signed by the artist.

This level of an exquisitely detailed carving from another well known carver would easily cost three times the price! Mario's work is so gorgeous and so purely sculptural that he was selected by the Marshall M Fredericks Sculpture Museum as one of only eight artists from Oaxaca, across various sculptural art mediums, to be featured in an exhibit in June of 2017. The exhibit proved so popular that it continued on at Wayne State University. Mario Castellanos was selected by both locations to attend and demonstrate his carving techniques. Mario and his wife Reina have also been featured at museums in California and Arizona.

8 1/2" high x 11 1/2" wide x 11 deep. The item "Oaxacan Wood Carving Mario Castellanos Snakes Oaxaca Mexican Folk Art Alebrije" is in sale since Friday, March 22, 2019. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Latin American\Mexico\Folk Art". The seller is "scthom1967" and is located in Blaine, Washington. This item can be shipped worldwide.

1. Modified Item: No
2. Country/Region of Manufacture: Mexico
3. Featured Refinements: Oaxacan Wood Carving
4. Culture: Mexican