Crèche, 1725-75 (mixed media)

figures: polychromed terracotta heads with painted glass eyes, wooden limbs, and bodies of wire wrapped in hemp; clothing made variously of 18th- or 19th-century silks, cottons, linens, leather, and paper, some with metallic threads; some figures with additional elements in gold, silver, pearl, coral, ivory, bone, and wood; additional smaller figures composed entirely of polychromed terracotta or polychromed carved wood. animals: polychromed terracotta, painted wood, iron, and lead; some with painted glass eyes and additional elements in leather, string, and metal. objects: painted terracotta, copper, iron, silver or other metals, ceramic, wax, raw clay, paper, glass, fabric, string, straw, basket fibers, alabaster, and marble. furniture: wood, metal, leather, and fabric. setting: cork, wood, papier-mâché, twigs, and moss with watercolor and gouache. the crèche is housed in a 19th-century cabinet with a late-18th-century carved and gilded cornice.