Praying guardian angel by Oaxacan woodcarving artist Alberto Jimenez Ojeda, from the woodcarving village of San Martín Tilcajete. Alberto comes from one of the great woodcarving families of Oaxaca; his sister is María Jiménez, one of the most celebrated painters in the tradition, and angels are among his most personal and accomplished works, pieces he carves together with his wife.
This angel stands in prayer, eyes cast slightly downward, her expression serene and inward. The wings sweep upward in broad lavender feathers, each one individually painted with fine herringbone lines — a patient, exacting task that gives the wings real airiness and lift. The dress is a garden in itself, covered in densely packed flowers in the style of Oaxacan embroidery, the kind worn for festivals and celebrations, and deeply rooted in Zapotec textile tradition.
The angel figure carries particular resonance in Mexican folk art, where Catholic imagery brought by the Spanish merged with pre-existing Mesoamerican beliefs in divine intermediaries, spirit guides who move between the human world and the sacred. An angel in a Mexican home is a guardian, something placed with faith and intention.
Alberto signs this piece on the back of the wings, in his own hand.
