Andrzej Cichoń – The Nativity Scene from Bethlehem

Folk sculpture is a field of art that has been developing since the Middle Ages. The basic material is wood. No two sculptures are alike, each is a man-made, not machine replicated.

The figures are usually shown frontally, which results from their location in the chapels. Usually, their symbolism relates to sacred topics. The figures of saints played the role of an intermediary medium in contacts between man and the extrasensory world. Figurative representations of saints and patrons had, in the beliefs of the people, the ability to influence reality. Special abilities were assigned to particular saints and patrons.

Polish folk sculpture reached the highest level and developed in the following areas: Subcarpathian, southern Wielkopolska, and the Lublin and Kurpie regions. Folk sculpture, unlike other areas of folk art, such as clothes or interior decoration, did not serve to manifest regional distinctiveness, the differences are based only on thematic preferences.

The sculpture was made by a Polish folk artist – Andrzej Cichoń. Carved in linden wood, hand-polychrome. The work is signed with the name and surname of the author. An unusual gift idea that will give any interior an artistic and symbolic character.

Dimensions: 30 x 18 cm.

Material: Wood