Crib of Estremoz | Merry christmas

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The Estremoz dolls as we know them today will have emerged in an uncertain date in the eighteenth century, probably heirs of a practice much older and widespread throughout the country that would have as main activity the production of small religious figures. Contrary to what might be supposed, the creation of these dolls was not made pottery by masters but by women, in a domestic environment, as it was possible to find out in an act of vereation of the Chamber of Estremoz, dated 1770. The formal repertoire is of great ingenuity and decorative effect. The pieces are hand-crafted from three basic elements: ball, plate and roll, which are then cooked and painted with vivid colors. The crib exposed in the GAMN, originating from the old collection of Margarida Ribeiro,