These Nativity scenes or Creches from a past QBO sale were collected by one woman. They are from Oregon, Mexico and South America. The Latin/Anglo-French word “nativity” means “birth/birthplace” while the word “creche” comes from the Latin “cripia”, or “cradle”. In biology, a creche is a group of baby animals being cared for by an adult, in Great Britain it is a nursery, so these charming little handmade scenes are all about the baby. Today we associate the Nativity with the birth of Christianity, but they are a later addition to Christian tradition.
There are few traces of Jesus the man in historical records and no birthdate for him listed in the gospels but based on descriptions of Mary’s pregnancy and of shepherds tending their flocks in fields (Luke 1., Luke 2:8-9, Luke 3:1, and 1 Chronicles 24:6-19), his birth is estimated to have been in September of the year 6, 5, or 4 BCE. In Eastern Christianity his birth is celebrated on January 7th, while those who celebrate midwinter on December 25th can thank Europeans who overlayed Christ’s birth atop the popular Pagan celebration of Yule, which included feasting, partying, and decorating homes with candles, evergreens and holly (sounds familiar…) Early Christian art focused on the encouraging interactions that the adult man Jesus had with people: sermons, healings, and miracles. The crucifixion was almost never shown, it was too terrifying to prospective converts. And it wasn’t until the 4th Century BCE as the religion spread from the Roman-ruled Mediterranean into the rest of Europe that depictions of Jesus’s birth, lit by a star and heralded by angels, started appearing. European explorers and conquistadors accompanied by priests and friars later brought Christianity to the Americas in the 1400s.
Creches have a standard cast of characters, but not all appear in every scene, so who is chosen hints at the values important to the artist. The only essential is the infant Jesus, usually shown in a manger, which is just a feed trough full of hay. Next is his virgin mother Mary, then Joseph and/or a herald angel to announce his birth. Halos on these essential main characters help the uninitiated know this is a miraculous event. And, there’s often the prophetic Star of Bethlehem above. Looking over this intimate collection, you can see the Native American version shows ONLY the baby Jesus, the blazing star and three singing angels. The Andean version, set inside a water jug, has only baby Jesus, his parents, a sheep and a donkey, and the humans are very human, no halos. The hand-painted Mexican version, set inside a gourd, shows the holy family with two shepherds, a cow and a donkey. The unglazed Mexican terracotta creche gives the holy family a lovely angel, a ram, a cow and a flight of doves. The fuzzy wooly felted version was locally made and (fittingly) the Oregonian holy family is accompanied by fat happy sheep.
These creches are all small, but larger nativities can be populated with many ‘extras’, like angel choirs playing harps, trumpets, lutes and violas, shepherds with vast flocks, more farm animals (although usually no pigs, which are not widely kept in the Middle East.) The Three Kings or Wise Men of the East (thought to be Persians) may also be there, although their arrival was somewhat after the birth and is celebrated as Epiphany on Jan 6th. Those wise men often have camels but can sometimes ride horses. And, (eyeroll) if you watch any Christmas specials, that humble stable turns into Grand Central Station, crowded with little drummer boys, baby angels, chickens, dogs, cats, mice, spiders, even Santa paying his respects. And that’s not counting the ridiculous plastic action figures like Obi-wan Kenobi that some irreverent folks like to sneak in, or the real life house cats that squeeze in to take a nap. Anyway, best holiday wishes from QBO!
Tuesday Treasures was started by our staff member, Jeanne Lusignan. Each week she will be featuring items that have been found at our estate sales. If you would like to submit a treasure for Jeanne to feature in a future installment of “Tuesday’s Treasures”, please follow the button below and send us an email! Please attach a few photos of your treasure in a beautiful setting as well as any details you have about your item such as manufacturer, use, age, region of origin. If you don’t know about the piece, that’s okay! We still might be able to research it for you! Don’t forget to tell us what makes this item such a treasure to you!