Ironwood Pelican 11" High (Mexico)

Each piece is individual as per the artisans wood selection
Beautiful pieces that will sit well over any hearth
Please look at the photo's

Mexican Ironwood is a single or multi-trunked evergreen tree, and displays lavender to pink flowers in May. By early summer, the pods mature. Each 2 inch pod contains one to four shiny brown seeds that are relished by many Sonoran animals from small mammals and birds to humans. It’s iron-like wood, thus the term ironwood, is renowned as one of the worlds densest woods and a masterpiece for carving.


In it’s LIVE STATE, Ironwood doesn’t have the beauty and texture of the carved and finished product. In order to get a piece of ironwood eligible for carving, the wood must be naturally aged after the tree dies in which the resins, the natural sun and desert curing process hardens the wood almost to a petrified state. This can take in excess of 10 years to naturally produce a gem quality piece of wood and cannot be artificially done. Ecologically, this insures the trees would not be harvested while live.


The variety of grain and color, as well as the luster and sensuousness of this gorgeous wood and the beauty of hand carving give these sculptures their unique and exquisite value.
The government has restricted the harvesting of living Ironwood trees, causing the artisans to search extensively for naturally fallen trees. Ironwood carving is an unusually demeanding art form originated by the Seri Indians, a small tribe that have dwelled in the Sonoran Desert for thousands of years.Once the wood has been gathered, each piece is hand crafted using very simple tools. It requires long hours of carving, hand sanding and polishing, plus an artistic eye to effectively capture the beautuful burl and distinctive grain inherent in Ironwood. The result of this hand work is that no two pieces are identical.

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