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    Nativities of the World
    Nativities of the World
    Nativities of the World
    Ebook196 pages58 minutes

    Nativities of the World

    By Susan Topp Weber

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    About this ebook

    Nativities from around the world in a dazzling variety of styles

    Nearly one hundred nativities from all over the world—most of which have never before appeared in any book—are collected here. Artisans from locales as diverse as the Czech Republic, Guyana, Burkina Faso, and Bangladesh are represented. There are nativities made with materials ranging from hand-carved wood, blown glass, and wool, to more unique materials such as salt dough, dried maguey cactus, and recycled bicycle parts. The artistry, ingenuity, and diversity of these creations are greatly prized by thousands of nativity collectors worldwide, many of whom have graciously allowed pieces from their own collections to be photographed for this book.

    Susan Topp Weber has owned and operated Susan’s Christmas Shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for more than thirty years. She has a prized collection of nativities herself, which began with a gift in 1965, and has sold nativities at her shop since 1978. She is the author of Christmas in Santa Fe.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGibbs Smith
    Release dateNov 26, 2013
    ISBN9781423632474
    Nativities of the World

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      Book preview

      Nativities of the World - Susan Topp Weber

      Appendix

      Acknowledgments

      This book would not have been possible without the generous assistance of many people. I would like to thank Max and Joyce Douglas, Judith Davis, Dagmar Kubaštová Vrkljan, Mary Ann Adams, Suzy O’Neill, Jerilyn Christiansen, Jane Braithwaite, Kathy Chilton, Noel Chilton, Lores Klingbeil, Alice Mann, Tom and Ellen Kocialski, Blair Clark, Randy Mace, Ben Allison, Ramón José López and Nancy López, Paul Baumann and Roger Miller of Poco A Poco Imports, Nellie Pace of Peruvian Imports, Michael Peters of Cruz Imports, Patricia La Farge of Que Tenga Buena Mano, Tony Jones of Traveling Trunk, Maribel Siman-Delucca of Arara Imports, Anne Ritchings, Susan Summers, Peggy Ater, Carol Ann Mullaney, Armando Lopez and Scott Markman, Wendy Wiele, Dona and Paul Cook, Melissa Weber, Mike Weber, Frances Mann, Louise Alvarez, Ann Reynolds Smith, John Stafford, Becky Maidment, Ginger Grossette, and Fernando Pardo de Santayana. I’m grateful to all the interested customers and friends who viewed my huge album of photographs that were considered for the book; and to the wonderful employees at my shop, whose help made it possible for me to write this book: Karen Sears, Susan McArthur, Karen Fuhrhop, Leah Kostoplos, and especially Terre Reed.

      Preface

      Nativities have long been an important part of my life. I have a prized collection of them myself, which began with a gift in 1965. I have sold nativities at Susan’s Christmas Shop since 1978. Membership in Friends of the Creche, a national organization for those interested in nativities, led to my sponsoring their biennial convention in Santa Fe in 2005 and to friendships with other collectors. Many of these collectors have generously allowed their nativities to be photographed for this book. I have had opportunities to see nativities in museums in Europe and the Americas, and have seen thousands of nativities in the process of writing this book. I have chosen ones that pleased me and have not, for the most part, yet appeared in any book. I hope my choices please you as well, and that you will enjoy the book you are holding in your hands.

      Mounted Wise Men From Painted Mexican Clay Nativity (1990s)

      Introduction

      Nativities are simultaneously simple and amazing. They are simple because they all tell a similar story, the depiction of the birth of Jesus under humble circumstances. They are amazing because they are made in such a tremendous variety of styles and materials and levels of sophistication in a great many countries of the world. Because of this variety they are fascinating to look at, and for some enthusiasts the urge to collect them, or to improve them every year, is almost irresistible.

      How did this all begin? It began in Europe as Christianity took root, grew, and flowered. There are said to be a few early drawings suggesting nativity scenes on the walls of Roman catacombs. As the centuries passed, magnificent Romanesque stone churches and cathedrals were built across Europe. The carved stone elements of their facades sometimes depicted nativity themes. Precious medieval books of hours were privately owned by the privileged few for their personal devotions, and these books often contained exquisite hand-painted nativity illustrations. During the Renaissance, painters frequently used religious themes, especially nativities, for their paintings.

      Credit for the first three-dimensional nativity is given to Saint Francis of Assisi on Christmas Eve in 1223 in Greccio, a small Italian village. His tableau featured live animals, and had quite a lasting impact. To this day Italians love nativities, and an entire street in Naples, Italy, is devoted to selling them.

      Medieval plays were written and performed, depicting various scenes from the nativity story. Medieval Spanish nativity plays were useful for priests in Spain’s remote colonies to teach illiterate natives the Spanish hoped to convert to Christianity, as well as illiterate colonists. Since these plays were performed annually, the stories were reinforced and became memorized. Some of these plays are still performed today; in New Mexico they are called Las Posadas, Los Pastores, and Los Tres Reyes Magos.

      During the eighteenth century in Naples, nativity sets became quite elaborate. Their figures had limbs with wires at the joints so that they could be posed, and they were often dressed in gorgeous costumes made of rich fabrics. Additional scenes were created depicting many various activities of daily life. These scenes often included fantastic miniature accessories, which created a demand for even more accessories. Neapolitan churches and wealthy families began to compete with each other for the most impressive nativity scenes at Christmas. This fashion spread to Spain. The most magnificent period of nativities in Spain was in the eighteenth century, when Carlos III, after he was made king of the two Sicilies, began the practice of setting up annual nativity displays in his royal palace in Madrid. Soon the wealthy families of Spain adopted the custom of large, elaborate nativity scenes set up for the weeks of the Christmas season.

      The areas around Munich, Oberammergau, and Tyrol developed a lovely style of biblically correct nativity scenes in the early nineteenth century.

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