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 four skeletons carrying a coffin on their shoulders. Two skeletons support the coffin at either end. The back of each skeleton is flat, and their heads are affixed to their bodies via thin metal rods. The skeletons' clothes are painted on, and consist of a white shirt, black pants, and black jacket. The jackets' lapels and sleeve edges are outlined in gold paint. The coffin is black and decorated by gold paint. It has a cross in the centre, with straight lines radiating outwards in groups of three. The edge of the coffin is outlined with gold dashes.