This Seated Sheep
is part of the 27” scale Fontanini Collection. Figure made of a marble based resin. Perfect for your church or institution yard art decoration. Sheep are a dark tan color then antiqued to give dimension to their fur. The sheep have rows of curly fur under their neck and on top of their head. The sheep will make a nice addition to any nativity set.
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Sheep
The raising of sheep was a critical part of the Holy Land’s social and agricultural system centuries ago. Sheep provided clothing, food, even milk…and were part of the intricate sacrificial system that governed religious life at the time of Christ’s birth. Scholars have found over 500 references to sheep in the New Testament!
Spring was lambing season. About a month after lambing, adult sheep were shorn in the midst of celebratory feasting and dancing. By autumn, the pastures were stripped bare. Careful to avoid grain fields where crops were nearing harvest, shepherds led their ewes, rams and lambs about the countryside.
Although sheep have been depicted through the ages as being meek or bashful, a more apt description might be gentle and loving…vulnerable and dependent upon their shepherd masters. Shepherd’s tales, passed down through time, describe the tender and affectionate nature of these loving animals.
Maybe it was because shepherds spent many solitary hours in the fields with their flocks that these particular animals bonded so closely to man…or perhaps God simply gave sheep a special gift of understanding that still exists between the two today.
The Christmas Crib
In the year 1220 St, Francis of Assissi visited Bethlehem. He liked the way the Christmas was celebrated there so much, that he asked the Pope for permission to recreate it in his own Italian village.
He built a manger in a cave. In it he placed a stone image of the baby Jesus. He surrounded the manger with real animals. Then he said a Mass (communion). The people found it so moving that they said it was possible to believe you were there at the actual birth of Jesus.
Before long, wooden nativity scenes were displayed in churches and homes across Europe. Today they continue to be popular as a way of reminding us of what Christmas is really about, the birth of Jesus.
The tradition was brought into Spain from Naples during the reign of Charles III of Spain.
In Catalonia, a figure is included that represents a Catalan peasant.
In Provence, in the South of France, nativity scenes are sometimes made up of hundreds of small painted clay figurines called Santon. They represent all the traditional trades and professions of old Provence. Because of their cultural value the Santons are often collected as art or craft objects, regardless of their possible use in a nativity scene.
A nativity scene, also called a crib or crèche, generally depicts the birth or birthplace of Jesus.