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A Moveable
Feast This three-tier glass case is home to a menagerie of animals ranging from chickens to camels, elephants, and horses—not to forget the grim-looking oxen with their immense horns and the placid but wizened donkeys. The glowing rose bushes, the billowing red mantles of the wise men, and the devoutly crouching elephant: they all have their own story to tell. The set is a children’s paradise. It is also a miniature paradise and a moveable feast. There exists a rich tradition of miniature nativity sets. We find nativities in matchboxes, in miniature churches, and tiny gourds. The origin of miniature religious objects has to do with traveling. Moving from town to town, civil servants and priests took with them a moveable altar, reliquary or icon. They were miniature in size. Today, miniature nativity sets remind us that Christmas is a moveable feast destined to travel time and space. |
