An ornate Bavarian nativity scene such this one is called a krippe. Its 81 pieces include figures with carved and painted wooden heads, hands and feet and silk costumes embellished with gold trim and sequins. Wire underneath the clothing allows each figure to be posed, a feature found in crib figures as early as the 1500s. The Bethlehem backdrop resembles a Baroque German town more than Midle Eastern architecture, and exotic animals such as elephants, and camels are less realistically modeled than the familiar horse. Blending familiar and exotic elements was a device often used in religious paintings and illuminated manuscripts, in order to make the nativity scene more accessible. Shortly after World War I, this krippe was given by a Bavarian to Minnesotan John N. Then. Mr. Then owned a large collection of nativity figures and wrote two books on Christmas traditions of the world. After his death the Friends of the Institute contributed funds to purchase it from his heirs.