Ayacucho Style

Ayacucho is a city in Peru. I had never heard of it until I was given a colorful Nativity box that I found out was made in Ayacucho style. I looked up the word and found out that the city has thirty-three churches representing how old Jesus was when he died, plenty of museums and where sports clothing is made. I found the information interesting, but my focus was trying to find out about my unusual artsy box.

A colorful wooden box with two doors that swing open to show little figures in a diorama retablo.  I had always wanted one and the best I could do was a small box about 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" box with a few figures inside. My new acquisition is 8 1/2" by 11" with many figures representing the culture and tradition of the Peruvian Andes.

The small figures showing different scenes of Peruvian people are painted in bright colors and placed in the box. When the doors are opened, there are six separate open-faced boxes with the crude figures inside. Even though I have many collections of Nativity sets, this one is special because I have always wanted one and now I have my very own to enjoy and admire.