Double Beeswax Candle · Zapotec · Multicolour

Large hand-poured decorative candle, meticulously crafted by Zapotec artisans in Mexico. This sculptural piece, made from pure natural beeswax, enchants with its elegant composition of botanical forms- a slender taper rising from a base adorned with blooming flowers and leaves in graduating sizes. The soft ivory hue of natural beeswax and natural colours lend warmth and organic beauty to the piece, each hand-carved petal revealing exceptional technical skill and botanical accuracy.

The Craft. This candle showcases the intricate artistry of traditional Zapotec candle-making, a tasking and time-intensive procedure perfected over generations. Beeswax moulded into discs are bleached and hardened in the sun on tree branches, transforming its original colour into a soft white that readily accepts natural tints. Natural colorants, like indigo, cochineal and marigold, are used to colour the wax, before being shaped and poured into wooden moulds, with vertical candles hung on scale-like structures and covered in close to a hundred layers of beeswax. The sculptural flowers and ruffles are each perfected by hand, one petal at a time. Working with beeswax demands an intimate understanding of the material's properties - its warmth, malleability, and the precise moment when it will hold detail without distortion. 

The Heritage. Velas tradicionales de concha have been used in Zapotec wedding ceremonies for centuries, blending indigenous practices with colonial influences to create a distinctive craft heritage. Zapotec candle-making, in all its ornamental mastery, is upheld by the single pueblo of Teotitlán del Valle in Oaxaca, where the importance of ritual candles preserves valuable ancestral storytelling and history. Carriers of prayers, symbols of commitment and offerings to the divine, beautifully adorned velas are part of pedida de meno (asking for the hand) ceremonies- symbolic gifts to the bride’s family, representing purity, respect, and the illumination of the couple’s future together.

The Maker. Doña Viviana Alvarez has been creating candles since she was eight years old. When necessity prompted her to promote her work beyond church gratuity, she resisted the town elders’ opposition to her entrepreneurial impulse and the loss of moulds inherited from her grandmother to open the gates to artistic, innovative candle-making. Four generations of female artisan candlemakers work today to international acclaim at the family home in Teotitlán del Valle, proudly named Casa Viviana. Doña Viviana continues her dedicated practice, teaching and creating a proud profession for Zapotec women previously denied access to this knowledge.