Night Watchmen

These three vigilant owls will keep watch from a mantelpiece or holiday tree in Peruvian artisan Daniel Vargas's colorful take on mate burilado style ornaments. In Spanish, mate burilado means 'engraved gourd', and the Andean province of Huancayo where the artisan was born is famous for producing these beautifully carved gourds. In addition to the engraving, ash from burnt quinal wood is often used to give the gourds a black background that helps the design stand out. For this set of three dried gourd ornaments, Daniel has used this method and also added natural red dye. A small painted wooden nose graces the face of each of the intricately detailed birds.