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Hands Around the World |
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Specializing in Hand Made Treasures from Around the World
Masks, Puppets, Dolls, and Figures
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then click the top-left BACK button to return.
South America
Venezuela
Yekuana Indians [more about the Yekuana Indians]
The Yekuana (Yeh-qua-nah) Indians are a very traditional tribe living along the riverbanks in the Amazon rain forest in Venezuela. The Yekuana are the tribe described by South Americans as "finished," meaning that they have an advanced culture. They are very intelligent and amicable. They are known as the best bongo makers, burning the center out of huge trees to make the dugout canoes not only for their own people, but other tribes in the area. They are also known as the most skilled basket weavers. They also are master wood carvers making masks, ritual weapons, stools, and sculpture.
Piaroa Indians [more about the Piaroa Indians]
The Piaroa Indian tribe is very traditional in its celebrations and dancing. The masks and figures below are made for the Warime dance which is a yearly cleansing ceremony as well as an initiation ceremony for young men. Participants cover themselves totally in bark or fiber costumes with masks that represent animal or mythological spirits. Masks and figures are intricately made with a basket form which is then covered in beeswax molded to the characters they wish. Details are painted in clay and a fiber or bark fringe is added. Small masks are worn on the hands like puppets. Mask and figure making is done only by men. A special hut is built in which the men make the masks in the weeks preceding the ceremony. The process is guarded from the women of the tribe. Only a few Piaroa are still mask makers. Because it is a dying art, these are rare and unusual collector's items.
Guahibo Indians [more about the Guahibo Indians]
Guahibo Indians (Gwah-hee-boh) live in the Amazon Basin of South America. Both men and women make a variety of handcrafts. The women make dolls from bark and fiber, decorated with seeds. They also weave baskets and hair barrettes using a coil technique with fibers found in the rain forest as well as traditional skirts and dresses with cloth made of pounded palm fibers. The Guahibo men are accomplished wood carvers, carving ritual weapons or sculptures.
Guahibo Indian dolls are hand made and feature dresses of pounded bark or loose or woven fibers. These dolls include a fiber string on the head so that the little girls can "put them away" by hanging them with the other family belongings.
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| These dolls feature a woven dress of fiber. No two alike they average from 8" to 10" tall. Item Vz100-0959 - $11.50 | These dolls feature dresses made of pounded bark cloth. No two alike they average from 8" to 10" tall. Item Vz100-0963 - $13.75 |
Peru
Dolls were often buried in the tombs of the Incan Indians of Peru. They would signify motherhood, crossing the river of death, and other things. These dolls are hand made in the style of the Incan dolls using all antique fabrics collected from the Peruvian Andes mountains. The bits of fabric must be seen to be appreciated. Some of the fabrics are very old making these dolls fascinating and highly collectible.
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19" tall. Item Bo80 - $57.99 |
Mexico
Huichol Indians [more about the Huichol Indians]
The Huichol are the most traditional Indian tribe in Mexico today. They live in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Central Mexico. Their villages are very isolated and insular. They still dress in the traditional fashion and follow their native belief systems. The Huichol man dolls are traditionally dressed with woven bag, beaded necklace and straw hat with pom poms ad metal hat ornaments. The Huichol women dolls also feature hand embroidery, a woven bag, and a beaded necklace. The large dolls are 11 to 12 inches tall and the smaller ones are approx. 4 inches tall.
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Item Mx0727 - $68.50 |
Item Mx0726 - $68.50 |
The dance of the Little Old Men is a traditional dance performed in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico by the Indians in the area of Patzcuaro. The humorous dance was meant to make fun of the government officials sent to the area by the Spaniards. Usually the Spaniard sent old men to this isolated area of Mexico hence the portrayal of the Spaniards as feeble old men with canes. These figures are made of hand carved wood and set on a wooden base. Their clothing features hand woven and embroidered details. They also wear a tiny straw hat festooned with ribbons. Note the very pink skin and hooked nose, the long white hair is made of natural fibers. Each stands approx. 9 inches tall.
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Item MX0728 - $25.25 |
Item MX0729 - $25.25 |
Item MX0730 - $25.25 |
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Item MX0731 - $25.25 |
Item MX0732 - $25.25 |
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Fantastically detailed mask of Don Quixote in beautiful natural wood by a master Mexican Wood Carver - Must see to appreciate 10" x 8". Item MX753 - $71.00 |
Indonesia
Lombok
Lombok is a very traditional island in Indonesia. They have a long tradition of mask making. Their masks are hand carved of wood and often inlaid with mother of pearl. They also paint them using traditional designs.
Small black masks inlaid with Mother of Pearl measure approximately 8" x 4".
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| Item Lm100-1386 - $12.00 | Item Lm100-1390 - $12.00 |
This extra large mask is trimmed with brass metal decorations.
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| 20" x 5". Item Lm100-1393 - $38.75 |
Dolls or human figures are hand carved on the island of Lombok. Traditionally they are carved from bone, buffalo horn, and/or wood and are often trimmed with horse hair.
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| Hand carved bone, approx. 4 1/4" tall. Item Lm100-1479 - $6.75 each. | Hand carved bone with horse hair, approx. 4 1/2" tall. Item Lm100-1480 - $7.75 each. | Anatomically correct female and male of hand carved bone with horse hair, approx. 4 3/4" tall. Item Lm100-1482 - $12.50 a set of male and female. |
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| Anatomically correct female and male of hand carved bone and wood with horse hair, approx. 8" tall. Item Lm100-1481 - 12.50 each |
