Religion

One hallmark of the American experience captured in the Museum's collections is the nation's broad diversity of religious faiths. Artifacts range from Thomas Jefferson's Bible to a huge "Sunstone" sculpture carved for a Mormon temple in Illinois in 1844 to a household shrine from the home of a Pueblo Indian in the 1990s. Furniture, musical instruments, clothing, cooking ware, and thousands of prints and figures in the collections have all played roles in the religious lives of Americans. The most comprehensive collections include artifacts from Jewish and Christian European Americans, Catholic Latinos, Protestant Arab Americans, Buddhist and Christian Asian Pacific Americans, and Protestant African Americans. One notable group is the Vidal Collection of carved figures known as santos and other folk religious material from the practice of Santeria in Puerto Rico.

This colored print depicts the Christ child in a manger surrounded by Mary, Joseph, and four shepherds. The shepherds are presenting gifts of a lamb and two doves. The Nativity scene is one of the most recognizable and popular images in Western art.
Description
This colored print depicts the Christ child in a manger surrounded by Mary, Joseph, and four shepherds. The shepherds are presenting gifts of a lamb and two doves. The Nativity scene is one of the most recognizable and popular images in Western art. The Bible contains two narratives of the birth of Jesus: Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-7. Of these, only Luke offers the details of Jesus' humble birth in a manger in Bethlehem. There is no information available about the artist, lithographer, or the publisher, however there appears to be a tiny indecipherable signature on the lower right.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
depicted
Jesus Christ
Joseph
Mary
maker
unknown
ID Number
DL.60.2967
catalog number
60.2967
accession number
228146

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