Retablo Altar Item Number: 2903/7 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Small altar with nativity scene inside. The exterior of the altar is painted yellow-white with red borders. On the top and sides of the altar, there are green wavy lines painted between the red borders. There are two pieces of leather nailed to each side of the altar and to the sides of the doors, as hinges. The exterior of the doors are painted with one half of a flower each and with blue vines emerging from its sides. Above the opening of the altar, there is a triangular piece of wood affixed, creating a peaked roofline on the façade, painted yellow with a green half-sun motif. Each of the interior doors is decorated with a two-petal flower. Inside the altar, the side walls are painted dark blue and the back wall is painted yellow with silver stars. Standing against the background are Mary and Joseph, bothey both wearing gold crowns and gesturing to Jesus in his cradle in front of them. The baby is naked and his cradle is red. Also in the background, right of Mary, a person in a red robe stands with their hands clasped in prayer. Left and in front of Joseph, there is an angel that holds a gold horn to his mouth. Left and in front a man in a blue shirt kneels and prays as he looks upon the baby. Right and in front of baby Jesus, a man wearing a gold cap, blue cape and yellow robe kneels and prays, as well as a grey animal with pointed ears that crouches and clasps his front hooves in prayer. In front of the angel, a man wearing a gold cap, red cape and yellow robe kneels and prays and to his right is a boy with black hair and a red cape praying. A woman to the right faces the child while she kneels and prays. Right of the woman, and in front of the praying animal, there is a patch of yellow grass in which a yellow-white bird stands. In front of the man in the gold cap on the left side of the altar, there is a goat standing left of a yellow-white, four-legged animal and a small brown camel to its right, and than a sheep, and a striped llama(?). A grey donkey with a satchel on his back stands right of the llama. In the foreground on the left side of the scene, there is an orange and black striped animal, a pink and black bird and a brown spotted dog. In the furthest right position in the foreground, there is a small brown and black four-legged animal. There is indecipherable writing in orange pen on the back of the object. On the bottom of the object, the wood is unpainted.