Pauyet works of art by a local group of silversmiths named Pauyet, from the province of Ciego de Avila, were available as of last week in a virtual gallery at www.pauyet.com. Pauyet´s artists turn flatware (forks, spoons and knives) into authentic works of art.

Their beautiful sculptures will be available at the website through which users can not only appreciate them but also buy them. The website offers reliable payment and shipping mechanisms and also the possibility to set aside works to be purchased later, said the site´s webmaster Boris Luis Fajardo.

The project seeks not only to promote the over-10-year work of the members of the group, but to allow an approach to their unique and unrepeatable creations that show good taste and diversity.

Pauyet´s director Rafael Blanco Montano said the works are permanently on exhibit in the province and in ten galleries in Havana.

The virtual gallery opens the doors of the international market to a different culture, different from the capitalist industry´s mass productions, Blanco Montano said.

Pauyet holds the Shield of the City distinction awarded by the provincial parliament was nominated to the UNESCO Craft Prize in 2001 and 2004l; it was also presented with the Manos distinction, the highest recognition granted by the Cuban Association of Artisans and Artists.

According to the Yoruba tradition Pauyet is an African word that means a hand with a silver walking stick, attributed to Obatala - the goddess who owns this metal.