Many religions of the world use a “Tree of Life” symbol when depicting scriptures and teachings of their book of prayers. Tree-shaped clay sculptures, or the Arbol de le vida, represent the connections between the living and the dead, man and earth, and the heavens and the underworld in Mexico. The colorfully painted clay sculptures contain religious and non-religious figures. The candle and incense holders make them look more like a decorative candelabra than a religious icon. Their scenes usually include several icons representative of Mexican culture and less often, depict an evangelical “burn at the stakes” kind of Biblical scene.
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