This Nutcracker Soldier with a Scimitar
is 15 inches high and standing on a red and gold base that is .75 inches high, 3 inches wide, and 3.5 inches long. This Christmas Nutcracker Decorations figure is wearing a green and red shirt with three gold mess strings. His cuffs are black with gold trim and his shoulder pads are red with gold fringe. He is wearing a black belt with a gold buckle. The Wood Nutcrackers pants are red and his boots are black with red tongues and gold laces. The Wooden Nutcrackers Soldiers hat is red and gold bicorn with a gold flower on it. He is wearing a scimitar at his waist with a gold cross shoulder strap. Check out all our Christmas Decorations Ideas for the holidays.
During the Eighteenth Century.
The normal military uniform comprised a standardized form of civilian dress (tricorn hat, long-skirted coat, waistcoat and breeches). One distinctively military feature was the long canvas gaiters which came up to mid-thigh and had multiple buttons. Dress was surprisingly standard between European armies in cut and general outline. The distinction normally lay in colours, red coats for the British and Danes, light grey then white for the French, Spanish and Austrian infantry, dark blue for the Prussians, green for the Russians etc. Within armies different regiments were usually distinguished by "facings" or turnbacks and braiding on coats in colours that were distinctive to one or several regiments. Thus the Royal Comtois Infantry Regiment of the French Army, for example, had large dark blue cuffs on its off-white coats. Select this link to view our Wooden Nutcracker Ornaments.
Nineteenth Century.
The ornamental peak of the military uniform was reached in the early 19th century in Western Europe. Sometimes the Napoleonic Wars are identified as being the acme of colorful and ornate uniforms, but actually the several decades of peace that followed were a time of much more decorative styles and embellishments. The Napoleonic soldier on campaign was likely to present a shabby and non-descript appearance as unsuitable peacetime dress quickly deteriorated or was replaced with whatever local substitutes were available. Until later on in the century dyes were primitive and different batches of uniforms worn by the same unit might present differing shades, especially after exposure to rain and sun. The white uniforms popular amongst many armies through the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries soiled easily and had to be pipe clayed to retain any semblance of cleanliness. Green as worn by Jager and Rifle regiments proved particularly prone to fading until suitable chemical dyes were devised in the 1890s. British soldiers were known for their striking red clothing (hence the name “Redcoats”). This was actually a fairly dull shade of madder red until the general adoption of scarlet for tunics in the 1870s. Select this link to view our Nutcrackers and The Nutcracker Story.
Nutcrackers have become popular in the United States as well and a recreated "Bavarian village" of Leavenworth, Washington even features a Nutcracker Museum. Many other materials were used for the decorated nutcrackers, such as porcelain, silver, and brass, and can be seen at the museum. Select this link to view our Christmas Nutcrackers Village People. Carvings by famous names like Jungbanel, Mertens, Karl, Kolbe, Petersen, Ulbricht and especially the Steinbach nutcrackers have become collectors' items. Select this link to view our Large Nutcrackers.
