Tree of Life (Mexican pottery)

A Tree of Life (Spanish: Árbol de la vida) is a type of Mexican pottery sculpture traditional in central Mexico, especially in the municipality of State of Mexico. Originally the sculptures depicted the Biblical story of creation, as an aid for teaching it to natives in the early colonial period. The fashioning of the trees in a terracotta sculpture began in Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla but today the craft is most closely identified with Metepec. Traditionally, these sculptures are supposed to consist of certain biblical images, such as Adam and Eve, but recently there have been trees created with themes completely unrelated to the Bible.

The tree is assembled while soft unfired clay from a large number of pieces formed separately.