Dotted Benares Nativity, Holy Family

Dotted Benares Nativity

This colorful nativity is hand-carved out of wood harvested from mango trees. The distinctive dotted pattern of paint is typical for Benares, India.

The artistic origin of this nativity lies in the long-standing Benares tradition of creating small wooden gods and goddesses. These are mostly carved out of single pieces of wood. The wood is then coated with chalk and painted in brilliant colors.

Benares is also known as Banares and Varanasi and is one of the holiest sited in India for Hinduism.

Name: Dotted Benares Nativity
Artist: Unknown
Country: India
Material: Paint, Wood
Height: The tallest figure is 4.5"
Number of Pieces: 14
Jesus and a separate crib, Mary, Joseph, a shepherd, a sheep, a donkey with pack, two other animals, three Magi, and two camels.
Acquired: 2007

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.