Adrian Xuana has a wonderful sense of humor, and the skeleton dog is one of his most beloved creations. He works in San Martín Tilcajete, and his death-dog has become so iconic that a giant fiberglass version was featured at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco in 2025, 15 feet tall, in a major exhibition of monumental Mexican folk art curated by the State Museum of Folk Art of Oaxaca. This is the original, hand-carved, at a collectible scale.
Look at this dog. Tall, skinny, all legs and ears, painted as a skeleton from snout to tail. White ribs banded across the torso, large painted bones marking the shoulder and hip, joints ringed in white at every knee. The head is small, almost regal, with two long, pointed ears painted inside with bright bands of red, green, and yellow. The mouth opens to show a full set of white teeth and red gums. And clenched between those teeth: a glowing yellow bone, his treasure, which he is clearly never giving up.
The dog has a special place in Mexican tradition. The xoloitzcuintli, the Mexican hairless dog, was believed by the Aztecs and Zapotecs to be the spirit guide who accompanied the souls of the dead through the underworld. Adrian calls his version the perro de la muerte, the death-dog, the same idea carried forward in his own unmistakable hand.
A playful piece with deep roots, made by an artist whose work has been recognized at the highest level of Mexican folk art.
