Fontanini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fontanini is the name of a famous brand of nativity scenes for collectors. The House of Fontanini was founded in 1908 by Emanuele Fontanini in Bagni di Lucca in Tuscany. The company today is run by his great-grandson, Emanuele Fontanini, with other members of the family, Stefano, Marco, Luca, and Alessandro.
Fontanini is famous mostly for its nativity scenes, consisting of stables and figurines - the Holy Family, the shepherds, the wise men, and various animals. Fontanini does, however, produce figurines for other New Testament scenes, such as the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Last Supper, and the Resurrection. The basic nativity sets can be expanded to include many figurines which are not generally available in standard cribs, such as villagers, musicians, and the innkeeper's wife; it is also possible to purchase additional buildings, such as the synagogue and the carpenter's shop. Many of the additional figurines are only available for a certain time.
Fontanini figurines come in various sizes, from 5 inches, suitable for a home crib, to 50 inches, suitable for cribs in churches. Most Catholic churches display cribs from the beginning of Advent to the Feast of the Epiphany (6 January), or of the Presentation (2 February), and use figurines that are close to life size. Each fifty-inch Fontanini piece can cost thousands of dollars.
Each Fontanini figurine begins as a clay prototype, fashioned by the sculptor Eli Simonetti. The figurines from the smaller series are then reproduced in a specially-formulated polymer; those from the larger sets are made from a marble-based resin. Each figure is then hand painted. Fontanini guarantee that the polymer pieces will never chip or break.
Genuine Fontanini pieces are marked with a fountain symbol on the base: the name Fontanini means "little fountain". Pieces made before the 1960s were marked with an image of a spider, as the elder Emanuele Fontanini's early work had included the production of soft toy spiders with swinging legs.
Each piece comes with a collector's card, providing extra, often legendary, details of the particular character. For example, the card for Gaspar (also known as Caspar) states that he was the youngest of the three kings, but was about 109 when he set out with his companions to find the Christ Child, and that in deference to the oldest king, Melchior, Gaspar stood aside to allow him to enter the stable first.
Fontanini Heirloom Nativity sets have been distributed by Roman, Inc. since 1973. Roman, Inc. started the Fontanini Collectors' Club, which issues a quarterly newsletter, gives members an annual gift, and allows them to order specially-produced figurines, not available to the general public.
