OUR COLLECTION — ASIA — MONGOLIA 570. GANBOLD'S LARGE NATIVITY
This Nativity is hand-carved from pine wood by Ganbold, who worked for a time as a dental assistant in Mongolia. He prefers to work as an artist, so he returned to his passion of woodcarving. Ganbold has made Mongolian Nativities since 2000. After learning to paint, he taught himself a unique carving style to add many fine details to all figures—even carving wood grain into the stable. Ganbold’s family helps with the work: he taught his three children to sand the figures and do some of the carving work; his wife applies clear varnish to the finished pieces.
The set features 17 pieces: Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, a manger bed, a stable, a tall detachable star, an angel, a shepherd man, a shepherd woman, a shepherd boy with attached baby lamb, a standing sheep, a goat, a yak, three wise men, and a large Mongolian (Bactrian) camel with two humps. The figures are dressed in the clothing style of 16th century Manchu Dynasty. The camel measures 9 inches tall. Joseph stands 6 inches tall.
The set features 17 pieces: Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, a manger bed, a stable, a tall detachable star, an angel, a shepherd man, a shepherd woman, a shepherd boy with attached baby lamb, a standing sheep, a goat, a yak, three wise men, and a large Mongolian (Bactrian) camel with two humps. The figures are dressed in the clothing style of 16th century Manchu Dynasty. The camel measures 9 inches tall. Joseph stands 6 inches tall.