Two New Additions and A Bit of History

This year, well actually, last year, I received two new additions to the Nativity collection.

Mom and Bill gave me this one in October. They found it in an antique store. It has no markings on it of any kind. It could be one of those paint it yourself projects, but I don't think so. It has an Eastern European feel to it.

For Christmas my annual Christmas Date Leslie gave me this retablo from Peru. If you look closely, you can see that it tells a lengthier version of the story than most.

On the right is the Annunciation, on the top is the Nativity, and on the bottom the flight into Egypt. I think the Wise Men are represented by the three figures on the right of the bottom section. And the mirror in the middle puts you in the story. All of this in a piece that is 5 1/2" wide, 8" high, and 1 1/4" deep.

This type of retablo is a traditional Peruvian art form. A history of its roots can be found in this Wikipedia article. It focuses primarily on the development of the Mexican tradition where it evolved into a type of religious painting often called a lamina. You can read a little about that tradition in this short article. In Peru the art form took a different turn that included not only religious themes but local folk ways and political stories as well. You can learn about the Peruvian tradition in this article.