Figure

Figures like these, made by local artisans, have commonly been sold in indigenous markets throughout Mexico, especially for Day of the Dead celebrations. The figures are used as domestic decorations and presents for children. In 2019 Shelton noted that both the large Oaxaca market and the Sonora market in Mexico City had far fewer stalls selling this type of figure than there had been twenty years earlier. One maker in Oaxaca said domestic demand had declined, and that there were fewer artisans as many of the older makers had died and their children hadn't taken-up the craft. Some of the artisans make skeletal figures encased in glass, to sell to tourists through folk art shops.

Purchased directly from the maker in Oaxaca in 2019. Sra. Elipidia Chacon Ruiz told Shelton that her parents had also been potters in Oaxaca. She is in her 80s, and has taught her daughters and their children how to make the figures. She also told him it was the younger members of her family that came up with the idea of making skeletons in cars and racing cars.

Day of the Dead figure. Figure depicts two skeletons holding musical instruments. The skeleton on the left is holding a violin. The one on the right is holding a guitar. Both skeletons have painted on clothes, consisting of a white shirt, black jacket, and red neck decoration. The skeleton on the left is wearing black pants, and the one on the right is wearing a black skirt. Pockets and lapels have been painted onto both jackets in white. X-shaped lacing has been painted up both of the skeletons' arms, as well as the sides of the pants and skirt. Both skeletons are wearing black sombreros, with a pointed cap and wide brim. Silver glitter is adhered to the lower edge of the sombreros in a continuous, dotted pattern. The skeletons' heads are affixed to their bodies via thin, metal rods. They are standing on a rectangular base, which is painted white with a red border.