No Place Like Home

Animal Nativity
Barry Grosscup
USA

The desert burns with the intense glow of the delicately crafted holy figures and the sacred drama they are re-enacting. Heaven – for fear of failing in its commitment to earth – holds its breath behind an impassive wall of pale blue sky and the silvery disk of a plunging moon. Angels, on the balcony of heaven or mixing in with other characters treading desert sand, are playing on their many instruments a heavenly tune of peace and reconciliation. Breezy and carefree, they are trying very hard to soften hearts and elicit response to their message. Harbingers of good news, they not only announce Christ's birth but also accompany the lonely mother and her child on their flight to Egypt, and play pomp and circumstance as Christ enters triumphantly the city of Jerusalem. But wherever they go, the stubbornly faithful donkey, carrying his master, has been there before them. Heaven needn't worry, earth should rejoice; such is the angels' tune.

Gothic Delight
Unknown Artist
Germany

Music box and crèche set in one and the same piece, the main features of this Christmas scene are the many delicate and pin-sized angels. A whole squadron of these alleluia angels hovers near the top of the gable, while a second chamber orchestra offers its services to the child and his parents. The tiny, feathery light and slender figures are tuned in with the architectural style of the stable. It is narrow and tall, and looks like a wooden cathedral lost in the midst of fir trees. The set is delightfully gothic: It charms you out of any sense of gravity, and, at the same time has wrapped itself in a mystery where sylvan deities and wood-nymphs meet the newborn Christian God in secrecy.

Mere Pretext
Unknown Artist
Italy

This chalet-type construction – not uncommon in the Italian regions of the Alps – is a mere pretext of a house. The chalet gives shelter only to mother and son, but it centers the whole Christmas scene. This is frequently the case in sets with an important number of figures. They need to be distributed in a way which allows the on-looker to see and admire them. And since all of these crèche characters are pilgrims en route to the Christ child, the house with the baby becomes the center of attention. This Roman nativity has a number of unusual figures, among them the poor soul burning in purgatory, a soldier murdering the innocent, and Pierrot, the clown. Somehow they are all longing for shelter from damnation, wrath and punishment.

Living Stone
Agnes Boiste
France

This circular construction and its coquettish roof seem to breathe with life from mother earth. Some visitors will recognize this house as a giant mushroom, home to fairies and dwarfs. Others may be reminded of living stones, symbol of those who closed ranks around their Master, not so much to protect him but in order to receive from his life and to pass it on. The charming little figures are like jewels spilling from a treasure box whether living stones, fairies or dwarfs, they are part of a fairy-tale come true.

Taunting Heaven
Unknown Artist
Peru

If there was ever a mystery surrounding Christ's early dwelling among us, here it is disclosed and revealed. In terms of architecture, there is nothing left here but the bare bones. Calling this pergola housing would be a euphemism. The original meaning of pergola is that of a colonnade which supports an open roof of beams and poles. Here, the colonnade has dwindled to four poles only. Even Romulus and Remus had at least a solid roof over their heads; who else but the Son of God could be taunting heaven and getting away with it. The donkey seems to know. He is peacefully resting his tired limbs.

Princely Canopy
Terez Patona
Hungary

Although only a simple structure resting on four posts over a gabled roof, the house where the baby dwells has nothing of the windswept shelter of fortune frequently encountered in rural areas. The steeply built roof with its proud gable gives the set the appearance of old reliquaries. Even better, it resembles a princely canopy worthy of the noble company gathered in its shelter. Indeed, Mary sits in queenly posture, the baby on her lap. They are surrounded by four figures standing in rigid deference. One of them is Joseph, the others are the magi holding gifts. This very attractive ceramic set in brown and gold tones is a jewel-case with a lid that does never come off because it represents the canopy of heaven itself.

Portable Bliss
Huamani Mitma
Peru

All houses are receptacles of sort, but not all receptacles are houses. Another of the typical Peruvian representations comes in a painted box. Open during the season and on feastdays, it is also meant to be a traveling companion for people who need a portable altar. The expression of this nativity reenactment in painted plaster is one of pure bliss. A sea of hands is raised in praise of the Messiah, and musical instruments like harp, violin and castanet join in the joyous chorus. The baby with the red cap takes part in the general excitement, and even God Father has opened the curtain of heaven to become part of this portable bliss.

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