This is so lovely; the humming bird plunges greedily beak first into the uppermost open flower of the cactus plant. Around the edge are four flowers still in bud. The parts of this small carving are detachable.  

The cactus is a symbol of endurance and warmth; the humming bird a symbol of joy and good health.    

Alebrijes are brightly coloured Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical imaginary creatures. The first of these sculptures were made in the 1930s by a man called Pedro Linares. He fell sick and when he recovered he created sculptures of the strange creatures he had hallucinated in his feverish dreams. He used cardboard and papier mâché to make his sculptures and the Linares family still creates fabulous papier mâché creatures today.

Alebrijes animal sculptures have also been adapted to a traditional wood carving technique found in the Oaxaca Valley region of Mexico. The native wood in this area is copal wood, which is hand carved and painted to make this ornaments for the tourist trade. Often the final shape of the sculptures is decided by the naturally occurring twists and flaws in the wood.