by Mary Harrsch © 2008
Seven years ago I had the opportunity to view a wonderful collection of nativity scenes that were displayed during the holidays by a local LDS church. I had an early digital camera but managed to capture some nice images of many of the different sets I saw there. Since then I have watched for an announcement that the exhibit would be repeated but did not see any until this year.
[Right - A nativity from the Masai of Africa]
I was so excited to be able to repeat this wonderful experience and to photograph the sets again with a newer camera designed for low light environments. I found the nativity sets from such far away places as Africa, Vietnam, Japan and Russia marvelously unique.
Like the first exhibit, the event I attended Sunday was very well organized and I was told included over 900 creches. I spent two fascinating hours trying to capture the most interesting entries, shooting almost five hundred images.
[Left - Kokeshi nativity from Japan]
The event included performances by a very talented singer and
two other musicians who played holiday music, much to the enjoyment of all. I don't think I've been to any finer concert![Right - Nativity from Peru]
I was told the event has been held every year for the past seven years so I must have just overlooked any notices about it before.
I'm uploading my images to Flickr, so if you are interested in seeing these wonderful examples of folk art, take a look. I have been titling the images "The Many Faces of Christmas". I emailed the local newspaper and offered to provide high resolution versions for printing so the event could be shared with the rest of the community, although I don't yet know if they are planning to run any of them at this time.
I found this interesting note on a web page about the placement of nativity figures:
"A nativity tradition is to not place the baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas morning, but it is not necessary to follow this practice."
It also point out that "some nativity icons actually display Joseph at a distance from the manger, looking away from Christ with an old man representing Satan at his side. The purpose of this is to give place in the nativity scene to the role of doubt in human faith."
[Left - Painted stone nativity from Vietnam]
I actually have several nativity sets of my own. I made my first set myself out of egg carton cups and greeting card images. We were newly married (that was 40 years ago!) and didn't have much money so we celebrated Christmas as best we could.
Later, my daughter sent me a whimsical nativity set from a store where she worked. I have treasured it over the years, too. Then, as I started to frequent flea markets I found a finely detailed hand-made porcelain nativity set complete with real hair and beards.
Then a chance discovery at an antique store, turned me onto collecting Fontanini figures. I found a 7" shepherd boy and girl first in an antique shop in Prairie City (OR) and didn't even know what they were. I just loved the detail of their features and the soft patina that gave them an aged look. I later picked up a 5" holy family set that I found at the local Picadilly flea market. My sister, a UCC minister in California, began collecting Fontanini and I stumbled across a flea market vendor with an entire table full of the 5" figures, so I bought them all and have parceled them out as Christmas
gifts to Pam each year since. This year, however, I found a quart sandwich bag full of basic Fontanini 5" nativity figures including the three wise men on camels [alone worth $99] , a donkey, a shepherd, an angel and a holy family all for $7. I couldn't believe my luck. As I had already given Pam a holy family, I kept these for my own collection and they have now taken an honored place on the fireplace mantel for this holiday season.According to the same website referenced above, Fontanini is 100 years old this year.
"Founded by Emanuele Fontanini in Bagni di Lucca, a village in the rolling hills of Italy's famed Tuscan region, the House of Fontanini has been producing handcrafted nativity sets since 1908.
Using an artist's sketch, master sculptor Elio Simonetti forms an actual-size clay sculpture. Once this design is approved by the Fontanini family, Simonetti creates a new model from beeswax. This beeswax model is highly detailed and used to create the rubber or metal molds used in casting Fontanini nativity figures.
Painting Polymer
Most high-quality figurines are made from porcelain, but a Fontanini nativity set is cast in polymer. The advantage of polymer is that the material permits exquisite detail work, but unlike porcelain is very resistant to breaking or chipping.
A Fontanini nativity piece is created by pouring liquid polymer into a mold at a very high temperature and pressure. The polymer is removed from the mold while still warm and pliable, and is cooled for two hours by immersion in continuously running cold water.
Once the polymer figures are cooled, they are taken to the homes of artisans in Bagni di Lucca for painting. Sometimes three generations of women from the same family will paint Fontanini figures together. The pieces are painted one feature at a time rather than one figure at a time, e.g. first the pants of every piece, then the shirts, then the shoes. The only feature left unpainted is the eyes, which are left to a specialized group of painters in order to capture the reverent and lifelike quality so crucial for an outdoor nativity scene.
The Last Details
The process of creating a Fontanini nativity figure ends with the application of patina, a compound of oil, lime, and burnt oils and earth. The patina is applied with a brush, after which the figure is wiped with a cloth, placed in a tub, and wiped dry. These last details ensure that each Fontanini figure is clean and non-toxic. A final extraneous touch is the creation of a story card explaining the history of the particular Fontanini nativity character.
The most popular Fontanini outdoor nativity scene is composed of 5-inch characters and is a seven-piece set. However, Fontanini nativity characters are available in eight different sizes up to 70 inches tall." [Right - A 70" Fontanini Nativity includes a figure of Mary for $6,499, Joseph for $7,499 and baby Jesus - regularly $1,500 on sale for only $1,275.00!"]
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