The Animals at the Manger

Creche
Italian, c. 1945-1955

My original creche, purchased at Woolworth's by my parents around the time I 

was born.  While the figures are Italian, the stable structure is probably of

American manufacture.

Every Christmas that I can remember I have had the same creche.  It was bought by my parents when I was a baby, assembled from inexpensive figures available at Woolworth's.  The figures are made of plaster, formed in molds, then dried and painted.

When I was very small I used to play with them, in much the same way as I played with my dolls.  But, they had a more powerful aura than my dolls did.  For one thing, they only appeared for a short time each year and, for another, I knew that they represented something very special, especially the Baby, Mary, Joseph and the angels.  I wasn't too certain about the specialness of the shepherds and kings, so today I find those figures to be pretty beat up, while the figures of the Holy Family and the angels are almost pristine.  Indeed, the kings were so badly beaten up that a few years ago I scoured Ebay till I found the correct replacements.  And, to my immense surprise a number of the replacements still had the original stamping on the bottom.  That's how I discovered that this simple set of figures were made in Italy shortly after World War II.  Who knew!

Annual Christmas Tree with 18th Century Neapolitan Creche
Italian, 18th Century
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
At left is a frontal view of the entire tree.  At right is a close up of the central group of figures.

Every creche, from a simple set like mine to the great elaborate Italian baroque presepi, such as the annual display at the Metropolitan Museum, has a pretty standard cast of characters, just as mine does.  In addition to the Holy Family and the angels there are shepherds, sheep, dogs, wise men and camels.  But among the most basic there are the two most important animals, the cow or ox and the donkey, usually referred to as the ox and the ass.  The ox or cow is, of course, the inhabitant of the stable where Mary and Joseph found refuge.  The donkey represents the beast of burden that brought them to Bethlehem from Nazareth.  And, according to my mother, who was raised on a farm, their breath helped to keep the Baby warm as He lay in the manger.

So far, so good.  However, nowhere in the New Testament descriptions of the birth of Jesus is there a single mention of these two animals (or any others, except for the sheep in the fields).  So, where and when did they enter the story, at least visually? In order to find out, I embarked on a quest of sorts, searching for the earliest images of the manger scene.

Thus I can tell you that the ox and ass have appeared in every Nativity scene I have examined, going back to the fourth century!  That is the time during which Christians felt free enough to make public art, no longer confining it to the household or to the veiled symbolism so frequent in the funerary art found in the catacombs.

Fragment of a Sarcophagus Frontal with Scenes from the Nativity
Roman, c. 330-360
Vatican, Museo Pio-Cristiano

The Nativity Scene from a Fragment of Sarcophagus Frontal
Unknown Provenance, 4th Century
Vatican, Pio-Cristiano Museum

The Nativity Scene from a Fragment of Sarcophagus Frontal
Unknown Provenance, 4th Century
Vatican, Pio-Cristiano Museum

The Nativity from a Sarcophagus Frontal
Byzantine, Late 4th or Early 5th Century
Athens, Byzantine and Christian Museum

The Nativity from the So-Called "Sarcophagus of Stilicho"
Roman, 4th Century
Milan, Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio

The Nativity
Byzantine, 7th-9th Century
Sinai, Monastery of Saint Catherine

The Nativity
From The Gospels of Chartres
French, c. 850-900
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9386, fol. 64

Ivory Plaque of the Nativity
Byzantine (Constantinople), 10th Century
Baltimore, Walters Art Museum

The Nativity
From the Book of Pericopes of Henry II
German (Reichenau), c. 1007-1012
Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
MS Clm 4452, fol. 22

The Nativity
From the St. Alban's Psalter or Psalter of Christina of Markyate
English (St. Alban's Abbey), First half of the 12th Century
Hildesheim, Dombibliothek

The Nativity
From a Psalter (Single Leaf) detail
English (Canterbury), c. 1155-1160
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 724, fol. 1v

The Nativity
From a Book of Hours
French (Paris), c. 1225-1250
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 92, fol. 3v

The Nativity

From the Carrow Psalter-Hours

English (East Anglia), c. 1250

Baltimore, Walters Art Museum

MS W.34, fol. 32r

The Nativity
From the Livre d’images de Madame Marie
Flemish (Hainaut), c. 1275-1300
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 16251, fol. 21r

Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel
Italian, c. 1308-1311
Washington, National Gallery of Art

Lorenzo Monaco, The Nativity
Italian, c. 1406-1410
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Lehman Collection

Domenico Ghirlandaio, The Nativity
Italian, 1492
Cambridge (UK). Fitzwilliam Museum

Geertgen tot Sint Jans, The Nativity at Night
Dutch, c. 1490
London, National Gallery

Jacopo Bassano, The Adoration of Shepherds
Italina, c. 1544-1545
Windsor, Royal Collection

Federico Barocci, The Nativity
Italian, 1597
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

Guido Reni, The Adoration of Shepherds
Italian, c.1640
London, National Gallery

James Tissot, The Adoration of the Shepherds
French, 1886-1894
New York, Brooklyn Museum

So, it appears that these humble domestic animals have been part of the Christmas story from the very beginning of Christian iconography.  This seems entirely appropriate as we remember that the Lord of All Space and All Time chose to enter human time as a baby born in a borrowed stable and put to bed in a feeding trough usually used by cows and donkeys.

Wishing to every reader the blessings of the Birth of Christ I will say Merry Christmas!

© M. Duffy, 2017