Orange mask w/ Mythical Raven Hand Embroidered Tenango

Orange mask made with muslin fabric.
100% hand-embroidered with a mythical raven in the Otomí Tenango designs by Silvia Martinez in Tenango de Doria, Hidalgo, Mexico.

The production of this piece of art requires 8 hours of work.

This style of embroidery has been handed down through Ñuhu and Hñähñu families for hundreds of years, and although the style as it is carried on today didn't become popular until the 1960s, these designs and traditions predate Spanish colonization.

The Otomi culture predates the Nahua in Mexico. The Otomi are known to archaeologists to be the first settlers of the Mexican highlands, arriving and settling ca. 8000 BCE.

A note; We found the dream-like colors very difficult to photograph in any light besides natural daylight, so the modeled photograph shows the truest representation of the incredible hues chosen by Mrs. Sylvia.