Glencairn Museum News | Number 1, 2020
This Nativity was made in a French monastery by members of the Sisters of Bethlehem, a Roman Catholic religious order. The figures, inspired by the art of the Romanesque and Gothic periods of medieval history, are handmade using dolomite stone from the Pyrenees in southern France. The stone is crushed and materials are added so that it can be cast and painted. According to the Sisters of Bethlehem, the creation of art is an important part of their monastic life: “The artwork of the monks and monastic sisters is not only a means for each monastery to earn its daily bread, but it is also a service of the Church. This Christian art is meant to be an expression of faith, an unveiling of the Mystery of God, who is Beauty and Goodness. Man is called to enter into this Mystery” (https://english.bethleem.org).
In 2009 Glencairn Museum began an ongoing initiative to collect three-dimensional Nativity scenes for World Nativities, our annual holiday exhibition. The goal of the exhibition is to show the universal appeal of the Nativity story, and how individuals around the world seek to give it relevance by relating it to their own spiritual, intellectual, cultural, or regional environments. Settings for many of the Nativities have been created by Bryn Athyn artist Kathleen Glenn Pitcairn. Our “Nativity Seek and Find” activity is fun for all ages. Those who answer all of the questions correctly win a prize (and help is readily available). For example: “Can you find a Nativity where the floor of the stable is made from an old wooden door?”
For many Christians the Nativity scene is a meaningful expression of religious faith, providing a compelling visual focus during the Christmas season. Notably, on December 1, 2019, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter on the meaning and importance of the Nativity scene. The 3,000-word letter was read aloud in his presence in a chapel in the mountain village of Greccio, Italy. The shrine at Greccio marks the spot where St. Francis of Assisi created what is believed to be the first live Nativity scene. According to Pope Francis, “Standing before the Christmas crèche, we are reminded of the time when we were children, eagerly waiting to set it up. These memories make us all the more conscious of the precious gift received from those who passed on the faith to us. At the same time, they remind us of our duty to share this same experience with our children and our grandchildren. It does not matter how the nativity scene is arranged: it can always be the same or it can change from year to year. What matters is that it speaks to our lives. Wherever it is, and whatever form it takes, the Christmas crèche speaks to us of the love of God, the God who became a child in order to make us know how close he is to every man, woman and child, regardless of their condition."
A Nativity scene may combine images from several different biblical accounts of the story of the birth of Christ. For example, the story of the wise men is told only in the Gospel of Matthew, and the story of the shepherds is told only in the Gospel of Luke—yet many Nativity scenes include both wise men and shepherds. Nearly all Nativity scenes include the Holy Family and the manger, but additional imagery (such as the ox and donkey) is sometimes added from non-biblical texts produced by early Christian writers. In addition, artisans may introduce new elements from their own imaginations. For more information about the imagery in Nativity scenes consult Glencairn Museum’s online resource, Do You See What I See: Imagery in Nativity Scenes.
Figure 1: Six vintage, medieval-style banners with the words “Merry Christmas” in several languages hang in the Great Hall above Glencairn’s World Nativities exhibition. At one time they were probably part of the Christmas decorations in a department store.
Figure 2: These Nativity figures are dressed in the traditional shukas of the Maasai people. This semi-nomadic ethnic group resides in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, and is well known for their colorful clothing and distinctive jewelry. (On loan from the Knights of Columbus Museum, New Haven, Connecticut)
Figure 3: Björn Köhler Crafts in Eppendorf, Saxony, Germany, was founded in 1989 by Björn Köhler in his grandparents’ house. Trained as a wood turner, in 1991 Köhler created this distinctive Nativity design for his three children to enjoy. In 1995 his Nativity was awarded the “Design and Form” prize by the Association of Erzgebirge Master Craftsmen and Toymakers. Today his family-run business employs more than twenty people.
Figure 4: These Nativity figures and stable were carved in 1959 in the workshop of Hans and Adolf Heinzeller in the German village of Oberammergau, situated in the heart of the Bavarian Alps. Oberammergau has been exporting its woodcarvings for hundreds of years, and today approximately 200 woodcarvers work in the village. Hans Heinzeller (1896-1973) began his own business as a wood sculptor in Oberammergau in 1945, and founded a workshop together with his son in 1949. Today their woodcarvings can be found all over the world; a Nativity with four-foot high figures was made in 1965 for Westminster Abbey, where it is still used today. The third generation of the Heinzeller family has been running the workshop since 1993.
Figure 5: This Nativity was inspired by the construction of a traditional Hmong home in Laos, a country in Southeast Asia. Mary and Joseph attend the Christ Child who, in traditional Hmong fashion, hangs in a woven straw cradle (basket) suspended from the rafters. The artist, Mr. Pet, is a Hmong Christian. He lives with his family in a traditional stilt house, similar to the one depicted in this Nativity. The materials are collected in the forest and transported by bicycle to their home.
Figure 6: Detail of the woven cradle (basket); see Figure 5.
Figure 7: This nine-piece Nativity was designed by Hajime Miyashita for the company Kokeshi Designs. The making of Kokeshi dolls is recognized as a traditional folk art in Japan. Miyashita, now retired, is a well-known Kokeshi artist. His works have won awards, and in the late 1960s some of his dolls were purchased by Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako. All of these figures have peaceful, smiling faces, and their heads are slightly bowed in reverence for the Christ Child.
Figure 8: This large-scale clay Nativity was made by an artist named Luis who lives in Embu, a city near São Paulo, Brazil. A Jesuit mission existed in this area as early as the mid-16th century. The city is known as a center for artists and a variety of crafts. Attention was focused on the region in 1937 when Cassio M’Boy, a sculptor of religious images, won first prize at the Exposition Internationel d’Arts Techniques du Paris. He served as a teacher and mentor to some of the area’s artists, and today on weekends hundreds of exhibitors fill the streets with their work. (Gift of Alan and Mary Liz Pomeroy)
Figure 9: Tonalá, Mexico, well-known for its ceramic production, is also home to the Museo Nacional de la Cerámica (National Ceramic Museum). The history of pottery making in the area dates to pre-Hispanic times. There are two distinctive decorative themes that often occur in Tonalá pieces— the nahual, and the flor de Tonalá (Tonalá flower). The nahual is a pre-Hispanic shape-shifter, who switches between human and animal forms. The flor de Tonalá is a distinctive flower with an oval center and rounded petals that form a scalloped design. Gold accents are painted on all of the figures, including the distinctive haloes that are formed from thin pieces of wire with balls on the end. (Gift of Alan and Mary Liz Pomeroy)
Figure 10: Leonardo Salazar is one of New Mexico’s finest santeros (carver of santos, or saints). This New Mexican folk art tradition began with the early settlers of the region, who began carving and painting the religious images they remembered from their homelands. Leonardo’s father, Leo G. Salazar, whose work is in the Smithsonian Museum, taught him how to carve. The base of this Nativity was made from an old door, which still has a portion of the latch attached to it.
Figure 11: Louise Ortega is the youngest daughter of Ben Ortega, the famed New Mexico folk woodcarver and santero (carver of santos, or saints). Taught by her father, Louise began her career at the age of 14 by carving wooden animals. Today she makes angels and driftwood Nativities; she gathers driftwood from the dry arroyos and riverbeds of New Mexico. (On loan from the Knights of Columbus Museum, New Haven, Connecticut)
Figure 12: The artist Keena (1949-1995) was born to a Mohawk father and a French-Canadian mother. She was put up for adoption in Quebec and spent most of her childhood in an orphanage and foster care. In her twenties she began to work with red clay, creating figures informed by her Mohawk heritage. In 2005 one of her Nativities was chosen for a Canadian Christmas stamp (the U.S. rate stamp). Animals important to indigenous life accompany this Nativity—a bison, bear, wolf, and owl. One wise man carries a bowl with cultivated foods, including corn; a second carries a pelt; and a third has what appears to be a quiver of arrows. (On loan from the Knights of Columbus Museum, New Haven, Connecticut)
Figure 13: The figures and structures in this Presepio, or Nativity scene, were collected over a period of more than thirty years by the late Elizabeth Anne Evans of Bucks County during her annual trips to Naples, Italy. The figures, which date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, are made from terracotta, wood, wire, cloth and San Leucio silks. A Presepio presents the Nativity scene within the setting of daily life in 18th-century Naples, a bustling port city. This artistic tradition has been called "the translation of the Bible into Neapolitan dialect.” The figures are clothed in period costumes typical of the aristocracy, peasants, and visiting foreigners. The birth of Jesus is depicted as taking place amid crumbling Roman ruins, signifying the end of the old Roman world and the dawn of Christianity. (Gift of Marcia Evans)
Figure 14: In Glencairn’s Neapolitan Presepio (see Figure 13 above) the Nativity of the Christ Child, which takes place below a host of angels descending from heaven, stands in stark contrast to the mundane life of the inn or tavern. Outside the tavern, a gambler tries to lure people into a game. Extra cards are hidden inside his cummerbund.
Figure 15: R. Michael Palan and Karen Loccisano, a husband-and-wife team of professional artists from Bridgewater, New Jersey, have created their own interpretation of a Neapolitan Presepio (see Figure 13 above). Why build a Presepio? According to Michael, “We wanted to work on a large scale project together. We were drawn to the Angel Tree and the Neapolitan figures surrounding it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.” The Met’s 18th-century Neapolitan Presepio is exhibited annually beneath their Christmas tree. (On loan from Karen Loccisano and R. Michael Palan)
Figure 16: First exhibited at Glencairn in 2013, R. Michael Palan and Karen Loccisano have continued to add new elements to their Presepio (see Figure 15 above). A new addition this year is the figure of a Sibyl. In ancient Greece a Sibyl was an oracle who uttered prophesies under divine guidance. Michelangelo painted five Sibyls, said to have foretold the birth of a Savior, on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The Sibyl depicted in this scene holds a box containing the tools for the Crucifixion, because she has forseen the future of the Christ Child. (On loan from Karen Loccisano and R. Michael Palan)
Figure 17: In 2018 Nancy Schnarr-Bruell, an artist from Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, created this three-dimensional version of an illustration of the Adoration of the Shepherds from The Christ Child, a 1931 children’s book by Maud and Miska Petersham. The Petershams, a husband-and-wife artist team, were well known in the first half of the 20th century as illustrators and authors of children’s literature. Before illustrating The Christ Child, the Petershams traveled together for three months in Palestine to research the clothing and customs of the Holy Land.
Figure 18: Christina Orthwein lives with her family in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, where she works in her home studio and teaches ceramics and photography at Bryn Athyn College (see www.ChristinaOrthwein.com). According to Orthwein, “The inspiration for this piece comes from the sacred, cozy feeling of a family circled around the Bible for a Christmas morning worship service.” Visual inspirations for this stoneware Nativity triptych include the Gothic architecture of Glencairn and the Celtic lettering style found throughout the building, and also the General Church seal, a circular bronze plaque designed in the 1930s by Raymond Pitcairn and metalworker Parke E. Edwards. (The General Church seal may be seen above the fireplace in Glencairn’s Great Hall.)
Figure 19: A special section of the World Nativities exhibition explores artistic depictions of the story of the Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13–23). One of Glencairn’s illustrations of the story, from a personal prayer book known as the Book of Hours, dates to the first quarter of the 15th century. Books of Hours contained devotions appropriate for the eight canonical hours of the day, as well as other prayers and texts. One section in this codex, known as the Hours of the Virgin, contains eight different illustrations of the Nativity story. The landscape in this illustration of the Flight into Egypt is rocky, with brown ground and palm trees. Other illustrations in Glencairn’s example of the Hours of the Virgin include rolling green hills, so the setting of this Flight scene may be intended to evoke travel through the desert. This Book of Hours may be seen on Glencairn’s “Christmas in the Castle” tour.
(CEG)
A complete archive of past issues of Glencairn Museum News is available online here.