Thrift Rescue

As I walked around the thrift store one day last week I spotted the little clay figurine. It was still there after a few weeks of being ignored by all the shoppers -- including me. But this time I decided to bring it home.
It is just a small light brown clay vessel squeezed into an oval shape. It sits on four ball feet. The sides have a wash of white.

Along the upper edge, small striations represent straw.

Inside is a little figure with a round head, three poke marks for eyes and nose, and a curve for a mouth. It’s a little baby!

While the manger is whitewashed, the blanket is a small swath of blue:

I wonder who made this little representation of the Savior in the manger. On the bottom there are illegible markings, probably a name and date.

This little clay piece deserved to be rescued since someone, one day, thought of the Baby Jesus as an appropriate subject for a little work of art in clay.

Considering the blue blanket, this post is linked to Blue Monday.

Blue Monday is sponsored by our gracious Sally at Smiling Sally.. Please visit her for more participants.
Because someone took a lump of clay and transformed it into a representation of Christ’s nativity, it is also being linked to Metamorphosis Monday

Metamorphosis Monday, is hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.
See more transformations at her blog.

Since this is handmade product, I am also linking to Handmade Holiday.

Handmade Holiday is hosted by Kathy at Kathy's Cottage. See more interesting handmade items for the holidays at Kathy's Cottage

Selected Nativity Bells

Christmas bells with a nativity theme provide an easy way to have a decorative touch on your desk, table or shelf.

Here are a few examples from the Carola Nativity collection; five of the seven have blue in their design:
First up is a ceramic blue and white “Journey to Bethlehem Bell.” It is from Hallmark Cards, Inc. Made in Thailand, it is dated 2001.
It has a blue ground with a white relief illustration of Bethlehem. The handle is a sculpture of Mary/ Baby Jesus/ Joseph.
White gauze ribbon loop for hanging.

This beige ceramic is carved with nativity scene around entire bell. Made in the Philippines.
5”T. On inside of bell: ”National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows – Belville, Illinois. Made in the Philippines.”
Front of bell: Ox/ Lamb/ Mary/ Baby Jesus/ Joseph/ Lamb/ Donkey
Back: Four more lambs, with small stars sprinkled above them.

Porcelain bell, fired in Bethlehem. "Glad Tidings" by Robert E. Ahlcrona for Royal Cornwall. Fired in Israel.
6.5” tall. Bishop Maximus of Nazareth and Galilee signed each piece, along with his official seal stamped on each. The Archimandrite Gregorio Chief Abbot of Bethlehem also signed each piece and they are each stamped with his seal. The Artist, Robert E. Ahlcrona also signed each Glad Tidings piece. "Glad Tidings " is an original painting by the contemporary master artist Robert Edgar Ahlcrona.
The Angel announces Christ’s birth to Shepherds.
On the back: Inscription about this edition.

This cream ceramic Nativity Scene Bell is by Homco (American) Made in Taiwan.
It is 6” tall and the handle depicts the Star of Bethlehem.
On the front: Pastel picture of Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and reclining lamb
Back: Three standing lambs
The next two bells are part of a long series of Christmas bells. They are both 6" tall and made in West Germany using the art of Sister Berta Hummel and produced by Schmid Bros..

The first is 36 years old, made in 1973.
On the front: White ground with color illustration of 2 Angels/Joseph/ Baby Jesus/ Mary/Lamb

On Back "Christmas 1973" in gold.

"Angel’s Light" is dated 1990.
On the front: A white ground with a color illustration of an Angel with a large candle with Baby Jesus in the manger.

On Back "Christmas 1990" in gold.

From Spain is this white and lavender bisque porcelain Nativity bell. The maker is Lladrò and it is 3 ¼” tall. “Embossed with a nativity scene of Joseph/Jesus/Mary in snowy Bethlehem, it is banded in light lavender over white bisque.” Dated 1991 on front, it has a lavender ribbon for hanging.




This post is linked to Blue Monday and Three or More Tuesday.

Blue Monday is sponsored by our gracious Sally at Smiling Sally.. Please visit her for more participants.

Three or More Tuesday is sponsored by Tam at The Gypsy's Corner. Please visit her for more participating posts.

More One-Piece Depictions of the Holy Family

I noticed that I two other one-piece nativities when I wrote the October 27 post. All of these are part of the Crèche Tableau category of my collection.

This handpainted holy family was made by the Demetz Art Studio in Italy.

It is 7" tall x 6" wide x 4 1/4"deep and has a wood base. The piece has very graceful and flowing lines:

The bottom of base has an embedded gold color disc that identifies this as a Vincenzo Demetz Figlio piece.

Next is a 12" tall stylized nativity named "Divinity." It is from Enesco’s Mahogany Miracle Series.

This series is designed by artist Ed van Rosemalen of the Netherlands. His family owns Parastone a renown European firm that is now also a manufacturer of collectibles lines such as Mahogany Miracle and Mahogany Princess.

On the bottom the stickers read: "Mahogany Miracle/ 754463/ "Divinity"/ c2000 Parastone/ Licensee Enesco Group, Inc." & "Made in China."

An earlier post presented the Mahogany Miracle nativity set, which has around a dozen pieces.

Thank you for stopping by, and for your much appreciated comments!

One-Piece Depictions of the Holy Family

While there are many nativity depictions of the central figures (the Holy Family), which are presented as one unit, they often just have the individual figures linked but are actually sculpted as separate figures.

In this example the Joseph figure seems separate from the one of Mary and Baby Jesus. But they are attached as one piece.

Other one-piece nativities, - the subject of this post -- are designed with sculptural fluidity and denote the figures as emerging from one piece of material. Here are four examples from my collection.

This marble-look sculpture is very graceful. It is 9 inches tall.

This Olive wood piece was made in the Holy Land and is 9 ½ inches tall.The sculptor used the grain of the wood to suggest fabric draping.

This 12 ½ inch piece is actually also a music box. It plays "Oh Holy Night" The figures seem to emerge from a tree trunk which is spangled with the Star of Bethlehem.

This 9 ¼ inch Holy Family piece has a 10 inch companion piece depicting the Three Wise Men

This post is linked to Three or More Tuesday. Thank you for visiting today. Please come again soon.
Three or More Tuesday is sponsored by Tam at The Gypsy's Corner. Please visit her for more participating posts.

Inside Art Ornaments

Hello Friends! Just 60 days until Christmas, so I am starting to post to my nativity blog again.

Today I am sharing two of my latest nativity ornaments. They are of blown glass from Old World Christmas. They are in a star shape and painted from the inside. They are a dainty 2 1/4 inches tall. These inside art ornaments were introduced by Old World Christmas within the past couple years.

The first one is of the THREE WISEMEN kneeling with their gifts.
Note the dimensional star shape:
The second ornament depicts the FLIGHT TO EGYPT.



This post is linked to Blue Monday.

Blue Monday is sponsored by our gracious Sally at Smiling Sally. Please visit her for more participants.

Christmas in July – Exotic Nativities

Now is the time to gather gifts for Christmas, and items for your own holiday celebration.

I recently received an e-mail announcing a clearance sale at SERVV. SERVV is a fair trade organization which works to assure that that artisans in poor countries are paid a proper wage for their products.

Here are some of the nativity items being offered on clearance. Several are blue:

Nativity Wall Art - Was $22., Now $8.99. Made in Peru
Colorful jute wall art with the nativity scene appliquéd and embroidered in cotton. Natural jute backing with a narrow sleeve for the dowel hanger. 16 in. long x 12 1/2 in. high

Capiz Nativity – Was $62, Now $23.99. Made in the Philippines
Translucent capiz shell and elegant brass wire form this luminous one-piece nativity. 10 in. l x 4 3/4 in. w x 9 1/2 in. h.

Ayacucho Ceramic Nativity – Was $32, Now $12.99. Made in Peru
Hand made clay ceramic figures represent typical Andean style from the Ayacucho region. Nine figures. tallest figure: 5 in. h. Aren’t the two reclining animals cute?

Not on clearance, but priced well is a nativity set especially for children.
Children's Nativity - $14.00 Made in Sri Lanka.
Vivid colors and lead-free paint make this a great first nativity set for kids. 10 pieces, 1/2in. w, tallest figure: 4in. h

Here is one set I bought from SERVV several months ago.
Tranquil nativity - $17. Made in Viet Nam
White ceramic with hand painted blue detail on this peaceful Holy Family. Three figures. tallest figure: 5 1/4 in. h

This is a great opportunity to acquire a nativity and support free trade, thereby assisting artisans in poor communities across the world. These would make nice gifts for friends or relatives -- or get one to add an exotic touch to your holiday decor.

Blue Monday is sponsored by our gracious Sally at Smiling Sally. Visit her blog for more participating posts.

ABCs of the Word – W

Pam at Grey Like Snuffie hosts ABC’s of the Word to focus on a scripture in which the week’s letter is highlighted.

This week’s theme letter is W as in WORD

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made;
without him nothing was made
that has been made.
John 1:1-3 NIV

Isn’t it amazing to contemplate that the God of the universe would come and become a part of our human history? And as a part of our history to bring us the gift of eternal life!

Baby Jesus from Castagna nativity, Made in Italy

For more ABC’s of the Word visit Pam at Grey Like Snuffie.

clipart - DoverPublications.com