equipale furniture equipal chair equipales mexican art

MEXTREAS.COM brings for your pleasure and decor some of the arts and crafts created by a handful of artisans throughout Mexico. Most of these arts and crafts have been produced for centuries and their art form has passed from generation to generation by these artisans. These various arts and crafts reflect the variety of Mexican folk treasures whether in ceramics, wood, glass or other forms. What we show here is just a small part of these arts and crafts, which we are sure you will like. As you can see in the pictures below, the traditional Mexican culture is made up of colorful images and this is reflected in their various arts.

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Alebrijes		Alebrijes is a term used for wood carvings done by a handful of carvers in the state of Oaxaca. Thus type of art has become very popular within the last 40 years and it has captured the imagination of collectors and enthusiasts the world over. They are mainly made from balsa wood and carvers are able to form anything from a simple animal figure to a mythical figure originated from the carver's imagination and superstitions. Actually the creator of the "alebrijes" was and who became a very popular artist whose name is Pedro Linares. As the story goes, he had a dream one night and after that he began to create figures that he had seen in his dream. These figures were dragon looking creatures and some people thought them as "satanical". His figures none the less became popular and people started to buy them. It is said that he spent about two weeks to fully complete each figure. If you would like to learn more about this very famous artist just click www.supermexicanos.com. Once there, click the link "Pedro Linares el Creador de los Alebrijes". If you do not understand Spanish, you can have get an automatic translation, although it loses some of its meaning.
Equipales		The word "Equipal" originates from the Indian Nahuatl language "icpalli" meaning chair for gods. It is known that this type furniture was used by the Aztec higher class society even before the Spanish arrived in Mexico. Now a days, this furniture is made from various types of woods and leather. Because natural leather is used, it sometimes appear with slight imperfections such as spots. This makes it difficult at times to match two pieces, something that makes it unique and appealing to some people. This type of furniture is widely used in Mexico in homes as well as in restaurants and resorts. I am sure that anybody who has ever traveled to Mexico has sat down at one time or another on one of these chairs and has enjoyed a cool one or two. This furniture is very popular because of its versatility to enhance almost any decor indoors and outdoors. It requires very little maintenance. The equipale chair comes in both natural and stained finish. The stained ones come in different shades and they can also be painted in different colors. Regardless of which color you order, we are sure that you will enjoy them for a long time, as they have a long and durable life.
Glass		The manufacturing of hand-blown glass has been in existence since the XVI century, when the Spanish masters brought their art and talents to the new world. They first opened their workshops in the state of Puebla. Since then, artisans have kept up with the same basic traditions, creating beautiful designs and bright colors, something that reflects the flavor of every day life in Old Mexico.
Mirrors		The mirrors that we offer are made out of tin and some have Talavera tiles. They are all hand made and they will brighten up any spot in your house, whether they will be used in a room or hallway. They are easy to clean and will not rust if kept around dry areas.
Talavera		Talavera pottery's origin comes from the Spanish Majolica ware originally produced in various Spanish towns. This type of pottery originated from the Italian Renaissance Majolica with a mixture of Moorish, Islam, and far eastern influences. This type of art was also brought to the New World by artisans and was first produced in the states of Puebla and Guanajuato. It is still being produced today by a handful of artisans much the same way as in the past. Each piece is hand painted and each artist uses their own design and colors.
Black Pottery		This type of art was originally started in the state of Oaxaca by a petite Indian woman named "Doña Rosa". She first discovered that it was possible to burnish the pieces by using a quartz stone prior to firing and thereby creating a beautiful patina finish. The clay is not black to begin with, but by using special firing methods during the baking process, the fire is starved of oxygen producing a thick cloud of smoke that chemically penetrates the piece being baked to form a black color. This process can take any where from 20 to 30 days which includes the molding, decorating, drying in special closed rooms, the polishing process, and finally the baking. The "embroidery" finished pots are done by crafted artisans after partially drying the pots and then etching and carving floral and animal designs, transforming it into and elegant finished piece to be surely appreciated and enjoyed by any one that loves ceramic arts.
Other & Specials		In this section you will find other types of arts and crafts as well as our SPECIALS. Many of these are one of a kind unique items.

Furniture		We are proud to present for your pleasure and use, Mexican handcrafted furniture from a select group of artisans. The wood that they use is aged kiln-dried pinewood. This type furniture can easily be adapted to many designing styles and tastes. Our prices are very competitive so we invite you to browse our pages.
		We also ship Via GreyhoundExpress for the larger items.

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