Retablo Nativity Gourd

This year, the Vatican Nativity scene is from Peru, and we decided to create a whole collection of Nativity scenes (retablo). Hang your own in your Christmas Tree! 🎄

This natural gourd ornament was hand carved, painted, polished and cut to create a door with a flower design. Inside the gourd appears the Nativity scene featuring 7 ceramic figurines, each one painted by hand and secured inside the hollowed out space of the gourd.

The interior is a painted midnight blue sky and added some straw to recreate the ceiling of a barn, while the exterior is covered in a delicate colorful design, typical from Peru. The technique used to recreate these Nativity scenes has been passed over generations.

Ps. All our gourds are biodegradable, so when you consider that it’s time for its second life, please bury it in the ground (including the wood Shaquira), it will help as fertilizer and nutrients for the soil. 

Size: ~2.5 x 3 inches
Weight: 0.3

It took 3 days to the family artisan from Huancayo, Peru to complete this art.