quetzal

To make this cute set of three figurines shaped like the Guatemalan national bird, the quetzal, Jose Arriola works ceramic at high temperatures on wood and charcoal-fueled grills, a method that has been used in his native Guatemala since the ancient times of the Mayans. These playful figurines are finally painted by hand and they are all set to bring some colour to your spaces.

Experts in pre-Hispanic art, artisans from the Angel Cerón Artisan Association replicate this extraordinary statuette of Aztec-Mixtec origin. Dated 1325–1521 AD, a brave warrior holds a quetzal gently in his hand as the bird's long green tail cascades over his arm. Working with yellow clay from Oaxaca, the artisans sculpt this museum replica with magnificent details. Includes a stand.

This Guatemalan owl has decided to dress in green like his cousin the quetzal, the national bird of that country. It is hand painted by ceramicist Vitelio Orozco and decorated with leaves and geometric patterns in multiple colours.

Crafted by hand, diminutive birds are colorful and realistic. Pedro Apop works in ceramic to carefully craft and paint each one by hand. The set of six ornaments includes two toucans, two scarlet macaws and two green quetzals.

When the sun god and the moon goddess meet in romantic eclipse, owls and quetzals come out to honor them. Jose Arriola designs these extraordinary ceramic wall ornaments, which he crafts and paints by hand, inspired by the legends and colors that underscore Guatemalan traditions.

Wearing an ornate headdress with quetzal plumes, a Maya priest speaks, his words represented by speech glyphs. An oceotl or jaguar crowns the man, also speaking. The fierce spotted cat was thought to have sacred powers and, in the language of the Chol Maya, the name balam means both "jaguar" and "priest." The feline was believed to be the cause of both the lunar and solar eclipse, which resulted when the jaguar bit into the moon or the sun.

Artisans from the Angel Cerón Artisan Association work in yellow clay from Oaxaca, coloured with mineral tints.

The swallow motif has long been popular in authentic Talavera pottery and is usually depicted in cobalt blue, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. However this bird seems to suggest the quetzal found in the cloud forests of Oaxaca, a state that borders Puebla. Isabelle Collins works in the style and technique of classic Talavera ceramics to create a beautiful ginger jar. This lidded vase is known in Mexico as a tibor; it was brought to Mexico from the Orient by way of the Philippines in the late 1500s.

"We use the same techniques and styles used in 16th-century Puebla. Classic Talavera used only six colors, all of which were natural glazes compounded at home with mineral pigments. We create our homemade paintbrushes using mule hair or horsehair from the mane or tail, according to the thickness desired for our motifs," the artisan confides.