The Kusi Mate is a beautiful decorative object for jewellery and other small belongings. It is made by Alejandro Hurtado Laveriano whose workshop is based in Huancayo, the capital of Junín Region, in the central highlands of Peru. The artisan is an expert in gourd carving, in Spanish known as “mates burilados”. The “Mate Burilado Peruano” (“Peruvian Gourd Art”) is a traditional crafts technique that has been representing communal or personal Peruvian stories in gourds for several thousand years. Alejandro Hurtado Laveriano’s drawings usually represent scenes of farming life. The gourd, known as “mate” in Peru, is the basis of the fine art of the “mate burilado”. To create this design, the gourd is first peeled, cleaned and dried. After that the artisan can carve the three-dimensional design into the gourd, using a special tool called “buril”. The “buril” is a wood stick with a steel nail attached to it. It is common to find miniature drawings on “mates burilados”, which can only be made with the help of magnifying glasses. For this purpose, an additional tool, a kind of scalpel, is used.

Each gourd is naturally grown. Therefore, each Kusi Mate is unique and can vary in size and shape.