Andrea Tipa

(Trapani, 1725 - 1766)

Workshop of

The nativity scene is housed in an ebonised wood and tortoiseshell case.
The characters of the sacred representation are carved mostly in bone and elephant ivory (Loxodonta Africana) and represent a Nativity with the adoration of shepherds; the work, set in a traditional architectural backdrop with falling scenery, consists of 11 different figures portrayed in typical attitudes: Virgin Mary; Joseph; Jesus; flute player; kneeling shepherd; shepherd with staff; shepherd with bagpipes; three sheeps.
The scene culminates at the top with the figure of God the Father in the clouds with the globe in his hand.
The greatest moment of splendour in the art of the Trapani craftsmen was in the 17th and 18th centuries when the serial production of balls, olivettes, small ashlars and commas of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries led to works of higher artistic value such as sculptures and compositions, often characterised by a rich architectural backdrop.
The Sicilian tradition of celebrating Christmas with the nativity scene led Trapani's masters to make both individual shepherds and nativity compositions of various sizes, with coral inserts, so much so that a document from 1571, the Account of the General Treasury of the Kingdom of Sicily, already mentions a coral Nativity. Trapani's artefacts were highly prized by Italian and foreign collectors, so much so that the most illustrious families owned valuable examples. In the Pepoli Museum in Trapani and the San Martino Museum in Naples, there are coral specimens, both made of gilded copper, silver, coral and enamels.
When coral began to become rarer towards the end of the 18th century, Trapani sculptors turned to other materials such as ivory or bone and the symptoms of the decline of the red material began to be felt, which became increasingly scarce until it almost disappeared. It will therefore be ivory that gradually replaces coral in nativity representations, coral reduced to a few elements as in the miniature nativity scene in the Burgio collection in Palermo, set in a silver frame with a garland of gradual flowers and leaves, attributed to the workshop of the brothers Alberto and Andrea Tipa.

Item condition grading: **** good, wear, losses and replacements.