Collecting Nativities from Around The World

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!"]

Civil War figurines and miniatures

An unpainted crushed pecan shell figurine.

In 1993, my husband and I helped my daughter move to Charleston, South Carolina. After we got her settled in we had a chance to do some site seeing. We toured Boone Hall Plantation where the miniseries "North and South" was filmed and took a launch out to Fort Sumpter. On the weekends, the old slave market in downtown Charleston is converted into a thriving flea market and street fair. There I found some figurines of Civil War soldiers made out of a resin created with pecan shells.

I bought five of them and wish ever since I had bought all the seller had as I have not been able to find any more since then. The pecan resin takes paint very well and I was quite pleased with my first effort. I even added gray streaks to the beard and mud smudges to the boots.

1990 Melanie Wilkes miniature by the
Franklin Mint

I also discovered that the Franklin mint produced some beautifully detailed resin "Gone With The Wind" miniatures. I was able to win the bid on several of them up on Ebay. Some of them come glued inside a small ornate bell jar but I actually prefer the stand-alone versions.

1990 Scarlett O'Hara miniature by the
Franklin Mint

Victorian figurines and miniatures

I have always admired the graceful feminine fashions of the Victorian era so I have been naturally drawn to any figurines I encountered dressed like the men and women of that period. I began by collecting Victorian figurines by Home Design. The Home Design figurines are really nicely detailed and I have found them for $20 or less.

On Ebay, I also found some exquisite Victorian lady Christmas ornaments from Louis Nicole in the $20 range, too. At my local flea market, I happened upon a wonderful set of snow white Victorian children figurines. They were priced at only $25 but I walked on by then returned the next day and they were marked down half price. Even though my display space was at a premium, I couldn't pass them up. I later saw them at a Department 56 store for a lot more than the $12.50 I paid for them! I had similar luck with a beautiful Lenox china figurine. I had previously admired several at an antique store on the coast with price tags of $125 each. Then I saw one in mint condition at the flea market for $50 and talked the vendor down to $35!

The Franklin Mint has produced some wonderful Victorian miniatures. These beautifully detailed miniatures were produced by the mint in 1984.

Each vignette stands about 2 3/4" high and depicts a scene from the upperclass social life from 1898 to 1908 - garden parties, ice skating, attending the opera, the theater, the races, etc. The figurine at the left is entitled "At the Cafe-Concert 1906". I had to bid on them individually on Ebay but managed to acquire them for between $7.95 and $10.95 each.

Historical playsets

As I browsed Ebay in search of other historical collectibles I became interested in collecting and painting detailed vintage playset figures. The Louis Marx Company produced a variety of beautifully sculpted playsets during the 50s and 60s that are now highly sought after by adult collectors. I particularly like figures from the Ben Hur playset and the Medieval Knights and Vikings from the Prince Valiant and King Arthur playsets. I also saw a picture of Eskimo figures from the Alaska playset that are nicely detailed and in dynamic poses. I content myself with buying selections of figures since a complete vintage Ben Hur playset now commands almost $1200. An excellent source of information about these playsets is Playset Magazine.

I stumbled across a link to history teacher Ron Barzso's playset website. Ron's attention to detail and selection of activities depicted in his early American, French and Indian War and Civil War playsets are truly outstanding and his prices are quite reasonable.

Since I am particularly interested in ancient history, I have sought out playsets produced by an Italian company, Atlantic, in the 1970s. I prefer 1/32 scale figures as they are easier to paint than tiny 1/72 figures and I have paid an average of $37 per unpainted boxed figure set for them. The Atlantic sets come in a box with a fold out mini history lesson including reference pictures of painted figures that are quite helpful. So far I have been able to obtain the Roman Legions, the Roman Gladiators, the Trojans, the Greek Acropolis set, the Greek infantry, the Greek cavalry, and the Egyptian Pharaoh's Court.

I also learned from a playset figure artist to use model railroad layout materials to create "grass" on the stand the figure rests upon for a more natural look (like the Black Watch playset figure above).

Avon collectibles

Although some collectors may scoff at collecting items produced by Avon, I have found a number of Avon's collectibles nicely detailed and well made. As a collector of Victorian figurines, I appreciate the Mrs. Albee figurines that have been awarded over the years for outstanding sales. I admired two of the figurines displayed at a local restaurant for several years before I found out what they were. I then happened upon an entire selection of them offered for sale in a Minnesota antique shop and learned about their origin. Although I couldn't bring myself to pay the $135 - $165 price for each one at the antique store, I found the one at left in a second-hand store in Cheyenne, Wyoming for $49 then managed to get the one at right on Ebay for less than $60. Then I was contacted by a collector who sold me an entire lot of them for only $30 each.

I have also collected the "American Women", "Storybook", and "Women of the World" series of small porcelain dolls. I am told the"Women of the World" doll representing India is very beautiful but I have never seen it. In Cheyenne, Wyoming I found the "American Women" doll representing the American Indian (left) and found her quite endearing, with a carefully detailed leather-looking dress and carrying a basket of maize. Last year I found a wonderfully detailed selection of miniature ducks and geese representing six different wild species produced in the early 80s as well.