A creature who came out of the underworld to combat the injustices within the animal kingdom. An alebrije is a mythological mixture of beasts, in this case a feline skull with rabbit ears and reptile skin.
Alebrije
Material: Bronze
Dimensions: 5 ¾” x 2 ⅜” x 8 ¼”
Alebrije are brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures (mythical/fantasy). The first alebrijes, along with the invention of the term, originated with Pedro Linares, a cartonero (paper artisan) in Mexico City.
Linares often told that in 1936, he fell very ill, and while he was in bed, unconscious, he dreamt of a strange place resembling a forest. There, he saw trees, animals, rocks, and clouds that suddenly turned into something strange, some kind of animals, but, unknown animals.
He saw "a donkey with butterfly wings, a rooster with bull horns, and a lion with an eagle head,” and all of them were shouting one word, "Alebrijes! Alebrijesǃ Alebrijes!"