Nativity scene, FAENZA, FIRST MIDDLE 16th CENTURY in modelled and polychrome painted majolica, 24x24.5x15 cm A NATIVITY SCENE, FAENZA, FIRST HALF 16TH CENTURY Comparative bibliography C. Ravanelli Guidotti (ed.), La grazia dell'arte. Grimaldi Fava Collection. Maioliche, Milan 2019, pp. 72-75 n. 7 The nativity scene is characterised by its tempietto form consisting of a portion of the vase cut out and surmounted by a button socket, which encloses the characters: in the centre the Madonna in adoration of the Child, on her left St Joseph next to the ox and the donkey enclosed in an enclosure with a small sheep in front, on her right an angel, a shepherd sitting on a barrel and two sheep. The inside of the vase painted with stars simulates the vault of heaven, while on the outside a landscape is painted, centred by a small tree with two hares at the sides and two farmhouses with a mountainous background. The figurative elements can be found in the production of small Renaissance statuary typical of the city of Faenza. In this regard, an interesting comparison can be made with a similar small plastic statue, but with an ink-bottle, kept in the Grimaldi Fava Collection, to which we can add the small nativity scene presented here (lot 37), which together form a small corpus of works made by an anonymous artist specialised in this kind of artefact.