Tuesday Treasures: Thrifted Christmas Part II

 I'm always happy to thrift the chalkware and ceramic nativity figures!   Joseph is from the Bins, I forget where the animals came from. 

I got the next trio from the Goodwill Bins, from down in a cardboard box of glassware.  I love rummaging in those boxes of breakables!

The two on gold bases are probably from the same set, and are c1950s plaster.  The taller magi (not really that tall, the angle makes him look taller, and the magi in front shorter and wider, than they are) is a 1960s plastic from Hong Kong made by Art Plastics.  

I had to spend quite a bit of time to uncover these Mexican clay nativity figures down in the bottom of a Goodwill Bins bin.  The set is only missing two random humans; the main characters and stable animals are all here!   Finding nearly all means that they came in together, boxed or bagged, and someone dumped them.  It happens in the Bins.  People open containers, don't like the contents, and instead of closing them up again, just toss them aside. 

Speaking of Mexican clay figures, I just love this Madonna on donkeyback!  Yes, the donkey needs an ear repair, easily done with clay or one of my son's 3-D printers.  I like the white paint with gold details on the Mexican nativities (see the ones above).

You wouldn't think, based on all the nativities I thrift, that Christmas is a secular holiday for me!  

This is a vintage c1950s Italian nativity figure.  Yes, a boy with a basket of grass or leafy greens on his back is a nativity figure!  Maybe it's food for the stable animals.  After my discount and rounding up, as well as some confusing addition of coins left on the register, which subtracted from my total (I think), I paid $1.50.

I have a few other odd ones, also Italian, that don't fit the nativity story, like the ones below from last year.  I think they are probably all shepherds with hobbies outside their flocks.  Either Fontanini or in the style of.  These older ones are much more nicely done, heavier bases, the difference are clear.  Fontanini still makes nativity figures, and one is of a basket maker, and a shepherd with an egg basket, so a basket carrier with greenery seems likely.

These are last year's bagpiper and stargazer shepherds. 

Then, another vintage Italian crèche, the kind with cork bark and moss.  Smaller than the one I shared in May.   I think it's missing a sheep on each end, but guess what?  I have some spare Italian sheep!   Also, there might have been an angel at the back where the moss is.  It will remain angel-less as the replacement figures are quite expensive now.  I've seen a baby Jesus listed on eBay for $25 (in a Ben Franklin Craft package with an original price of $1.19)!

Same sinister looks on the faces of the donkey and the ox as the in the larger crèche!

While not a cheap as the other (from the Goodwill Bins at 10¢ a pound), still a real bargain at under $4.00. 

A hand-painted Mexican folk-art papier-mâché nativity from the 1960s.  Isn't it amazing?  Or, isn't it a bit odd and creepy?  $3.14 at Goodwill.