BM504 Day of the Dead Nicho Box

Hand painted Day of the Dead nicho box with 3-D shrine: table, bouquet, metate, cooking vessel, and picture.

 The overall measurement of the hot pink box is 4” x 4 1/4”.

 A nicho box, or simply ‘nicho’, is a three-dimensional or recessed display box, much in the spirit of a shadow box, used as a portable shrine to an important figure or loved one.  They originated as an adaptation of the Roman Catholic ‘retablo’, which is a painting of a saint on wood or tin.  The difference is that while retablos are flat, nichos are in the shape of boxes and often feature hinged doors, creating an accessible stage-like setting for a significant image and trinkets.

In addition to being placed on alters, sugar skulls are often used to decorate the gravestones of the deceased.  The skulls are very bright and cheerful, meant to celebrate the lives of the deceased.