wooden chests

Grinning Catrina frolics in a decoupage collage as Ana María González commemorates Day of the Dead with a colorful treasure chest. The word catrina is widely used in Mexico to mean "elegant and polished." Lithographer Jose Guadalupe Posadas created the skeletal Catrina, who was later immortalized in the murals of Diego Rivera. In Mexico, the Day of the Dead is about celebrating the life of those who have passed, rather than mourning their deaths. People visit graves with offerings, including bright floral displays.

Part of NOVICA's Dia de los Muertos collection.

Ana Maria Gonzalez in Mexico creates this fun jewelry chest, employing the decoupage technique. A skeletal bride and groom are depicted on the top and front of the pinewood box, in homage to José Guadalupe Posada's La Calavera Catrina. The small chest features two drawers for storing small treasures.

The original "La Calavera Catrina" was a zinc etching created by the artist José Guadalupe Posada in Mexico around 1910. Posada created the character, a female skeleton with an elegant hat, as a satirical portrait of Mexican natives who aspired to European style and denied their own heritage. The catrina has since become an emblem of Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration and a popular folk art subject.

This chest treasures the timeless allure of Catrina, as first developed by renowned Mexican caricaturist José Guadalupe Posadas. Personifying death, Catrina is a coquettish character that symbolizes Mexican customs and beliefs. She is portrayed eating a watermelon and drinking tequila in a decoupage composition by Ana Maria Gonzalez. She uses it to adorn a pinewood box featuring iron fixtures.

Part of NOVICA's Dia de los Muertos collection.

Ana Maria Gonzalez celebrates Day of the Dead traditions with the design of this jewelry box. She masters decoupage techniques featuring Mexico's lotería (bingo) cards with different skeletal images. The pinewood chest features a drawer and an upper compartment with three segments under the lid--perfect for keeping small treasures organized.

Grinning skeletons share a feast and a bottle of tequila as marigolds illuminate the scene. Ana Maria González celebrates the Day of the Dead with a colorful chest for personal treasures. In Mexico, the Day of the Dead is about celebrating the life of those who have passed away, rather than mourning their deaths. People visit graves with offerings, including altars such as the one depicted on one side of the jewelry box. It features a compartment beneath the lid and a drawer.

Part of NOVICA's Dia de los Muertos collection.

Standing atop brass feet, this distressed pinewood decorative box is created by Mexican artisan Ana Maria Gonzalez. She gives the decorative box a chest-style appearance, decorated in decoupage with the image of a colorful skeleton that wears a dapper hat. Bringing the spirit of Day of the Dead to your home, this decorative box opens to a single-compartment interior with a mirror on the inside of the lid.

Evoking Day of the Dead imagery, four charming skeleton cats are depicted on the lid of this decoupage decorative box from Mexico. Designed by Ana Maria Gonzalez, the chest-style box is handcrafted from pinewood and given a distressed finish in grey. Standing atop four brass feet, the box opens to a single-compartment interior for storing your cherished belongings. A mirror decorates the inner part of the lid.