Exquisitely Carved Gourd Featured in Peruvian Jewelry

Peruvian artisans also feature pieces of gourds and gourd carvings in their handicrafts. Gourd carving is one of the oldest traditional crafts of Peru. While most gourd art is carried out on a large scale using entire dried gourds, the Peruvian jewelry of Tikanchay’s silver artisans showcases this wearable art on a miniature and exquisite scale. I had the distinct privilege of seeing a master artisan carve his designs recently and I am in awe of his expertise. There is a relationship between his artistic talent and his technical skill that can only be described in metaphorical terms – a marriage, a ballet – none of which do justice to the end result or the experience of seeing it in person. It will be one of the highlights of my year to see our collaboration of design and execution come to fruition.