Exquisite Folk Art Carvings from the Wounaan Tribe of Panama - Galeria Namu

The following are just so different, I had to bring them to you. These incredible little carvings are made from a type of nut which emulates ivory. They are available from a gallery in Costa Rica, Galeria Namu, and I've added their link under Great Sites to Visit. You'll also find other wonderful items there - the cloth molas are from another region - and I've added those at the bottom. This kind of work is museum quality, although the range of pricing certainly doesn't reflect that, as you can buy a treasure for less than the price of a few Costa Rican lattes. The lattes will be gone, but the treasure will be yours forever.









This is the formal description by Galeria Namu:

Tagua Nuts Carvings: These endemic palm nuts from the Darien region of Panama have all of the properties of animal ivory and the gifted men of the Wounaan tribe fashion them into some of the most amazing figures from the Neotropical animal kingdom, plant kingdom and comparable jewelry. While they have been likened to Japanese ivory netsuke, no animal has suffered in the acquisition of this vegetable form of ivory. The delicate grace and beauty of each piece will surprise and delight any lover of art or nature.

You'd be the only kid on the block with one of these amazing pieces.

And here are some other pieces from Galeria Namu, just to whet your appetite.




Have a spectacular weekend. I intend to. That brilliant Canadian sun is back!