This authentic Oaxacan coyote Alebrije by Pedro Carreño is one of the most spirited pieces we have had in the gallery, carved in one piece from a single block of copal wood.
Pedro Carreño is one of the finest carvers working in Oaxaca today, known for his elegant animal forms and the extraordinary density of his painting. This copal wood figure is Pedro at his best. A coyote stands in mid-howl, head thrown back, mouth open, ears pinned against the neck. The tail extends long and low behind him. The pose captures pure sound.
The carving alone is a feat. To release a howling coyote from a single block of copal, with the neck arched back and the head lifted, requires a carver who understands both the wood and the animal completely.
The painting takes the piece into another dimension. Pedro works in zones of pattern, each one distinct, each one dense enough to reward close looking. The back and head are covered in a purple-and-blue feathered leaf pattern that reads like fur and plumage at once. The shoulder carries a large green medallion with radiating orange and red bands, outlined in pearl-white dots. The haunch is a dense diamond op-art pattern in dark green and black that reads almost three-dimensional. The front leg is banded in green, red, and cream Zapotec fret designs from shoulder to foot. Golden eyes rest above small blue pearl droplets. Every zone talks to every other zone.
The coyote holds a powerful place in Mesoamerican tradition. Known as coyotl in Nahuatl, he is a trickster, a survivor, a wise creature who navigates between worlds. He was sacred to the god Huehuecoyotl, the "Old Coyote," patron of music, dance, and mischief. To carve a howling coyote is to give voice to one of the oldest spirits in the Mexican imagination.
Signed Oaxaca art at its finest, a serious work of Mexican folk art from an artist who defines what alebrije carving can be.
