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Model (2 of 2), of Cave of Nativity, Bethlehem

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Postcard of Model (2 of 2), of Cave of Nativity, Bethlehem.
000-180-001-936-C
© National Museums Scotland

Model (2 of 2), of Cave of Nativity, Bethlehem

This model is of the Cave or Grotto of the Nativity under the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Made of wood and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, it dates from the eighteenth or nineteenth century.

The baby Jesus is represented, wrapped in swaddling clothes, in the centre of the model. Above his head, in the niche, is a star, which marks the place where he is said to have been born.

Souvenirs like this would have been made by Arab Christians, working in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and elsewhere in the Holy Land. Pilgrims would have been able to purchase models of the Cave of the Nativity in Bethlehem or Jerusalem. Such models were also exported by the Franciscans and others, to Catholics in Europe and to Greek and Russian Orthodox Christians.


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Online ID: 000-180-001-936-C
Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
Project: 0504: National Museums Scotland Part 2
Project description | View all records in project
Ref: National Museums Scotland  
Date: 18th or 19th century
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References:
  • Evans, G. Souvenirs From Roman Times to the Present Day. Edinburgh: NMS Publishing Ltd, 1999, pp 8-9. 
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