Christmas Ornaments 2018 II

gift from a friend

Pam integrated this charming resin figure into her mantle “Immaculate Conception” Christmas tableau (click link for this post).  A former co-worker (Pam is retired) gifted a pair of these for Christmas.  The lady was a dedicated cable shopper before the internet era, sharing with Pam the news of her latest acquisitions.  She was similar to my Mother in this way, at the time of Mom’s passing the Asian Immaculate Conception statue of the previous post was set aside, carefully packed away, in her basement to be used as a future gift for one of us (her) children.  Mom was a catalog shopper.

Click pic for my Fine Art Photography gallery
Click photograph for my Fine Art Photography Gallery

This winged creature, placed as an attendant to the Virgin within the tableau, is a fairy or sprite, not an angel.  As visualized for the popular imagination, descendants of Victorian fancy, these are nature spirits, tied to the earth, part of the natural environment as in the illustrations of Arthur Rackham for Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream.”  

Our attendant is a citified, well dressed, cousin of the rural sprites.  She could walk down a New York City street and may not incite too much attention from passerbys except for her flower banner, spring garland headdress and preternatural beauty, not to mention the gemstone the size of a egg around her right wrist.  Oh, and the wings.     

Our sprite bears a well wrapped gift, signaling her as an emblem of the Christmas (or birthday?) season, an attendant to the future Mother of Jesus walking on a tinsel cloud among the spheres of heaven.

Copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

14 thoughts on “Christmas Ornaments 2018 II

  1. I loved the spirit and beauty of this post, Michael Stephen — your description of your sprite, the sweetness of the photo, and the deep love for your mother and her carefully packed gift. Warm greetings to you during this holiday season….

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  2. She is a lovely fairy/sprite, Michael; a beautiful expression.
    I’m sure that Pam has a wonderful Christmas display happening.
    Do enjoy all that the season has on offer, including; peace, joy and family…
    xoxoxo

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