Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1903-12-18
A COLLECTION OF HANGERS.
One of the Sights in the New 5avarIan
National Museum at Munich.


The great charm of the new Bavarian
National Museum at Munich perhaps lies
in the fact that its collections We're made
first and its building afterward This
method has resulted in unusual harmony
and surprises at every turn. The archi-
tect has planned arches To be bourne by
stone columns from early Bavaria and
rooms to be ceiled 10y genuine panels from
the Middle Ages; he has cut doorways to
fit the worn doors at his command, and
has built a vaulted chapel to hold the
wealth Of ecclesiastical treasures
Among the many individual collections
of the museum. by far the most original
is the so-called "Krippensammlung." or
collection of managers. To the ears of
Protestant America this expresses little
or nothing, and seems to be a more appro-
pirate department for a county fair than
for an art museum But the Roman Cath
Ole church, in its constant appeals to the
eyes and ears of its followers, has through
long centuries, invented some very beau
tiful methods of teaching little children,
as well as those children of an older
growth the unlettered and the untaught
Thus ii is that the Holy Sepulcher is stll
built on Good Friday in many foreign
churches, while on Christmas eve the
story of Holy Night is represented to the
eye by a group of little figures gathered
about a manger.
Whoever has happened on such scene
at Chrlstmas-tim in a Catholic church in
our own country has doubtless been more
impressed with the originality of the
method than with any artistic merit in
the figures: but in the land of artists
across the sea. much skill and beauty have
been wrought into the little Christmas
| hangers. These have been a part of the
equipment of churches and monasteries
for centuries, but in times OF disestablish-
ment and poverty many of them were
scattered abroad. About a thousand have
been gathered into this SCHNEIDER Collec-
| ton at Munich, which represents German,
Austrian, Neapolitan, and Sicilian work.
manship, and for variety and interest
| leaves nothing to be desired.
Imagine, If you can, hundreds OF little
| fgures-dolls If you choose, but rather
miniature men and women, for most of
| them are carved with a skill which
amounts to art. So full of life is every
| line and feature that one half expects to
| see them move. Some are of wax, but
most of wood or bisque; a few are only
two or three inches tail, but the majority
| are from eight to sixteen inches. The col
oring of the features is lifelike and the
poses of the figures are natural the cos
| tunes are elaborate, and would charm
the doll-loving little girl, while the SOL
diers, clad in full armor would delight
her brother as well.
Many of these fascinating figures are
| displayed in cases which fill several
rooms but the most interesting part of
| the collection consists of scenes actually
arranged as they were every Christmas in
the churches and monasteries for which
they were made, Great panes of glass
are set in the walls of darkened passages,
| and behind these are constructed minia-
ture landscapes, the extreme background
formed by painted scenes which seem to
carry the eye for miles. The only light
comes from above, and is so cleverly ar
ranged that il adds the last touch of
reality to the whole. In such settings
the little figures are so lifelike that one
seems TO be looking at human beings
through reversed opera glasses, or to be
as near the land of Lilliput as the thick
ness of a pane of glass.-[From Christ
mas Managers" in the December Century.