Nutcracker Sweet - HUM 2130

With their big mouths and their grim faces, they have become famous: the traditional, brightly painted nutcrackers. No Christmas decoration should be without them. They even share a piece of history with the Hummel figures. Who would have thought that the nutcrackers have a lot in common with the cute Hummel children?

Just as American GIs brought Hummel figurines to the USA after the Second World War, they also discovered the nutcrackers as a sought-after gift for loved ones at home. The GIs were probably fascinated by the high-quality woodwork, the bright colors and the tradition that each piece embodied, because as early as 1650, carvers in the Alpine region began to make such "nutbiters". In the Saxon Ore Mountains, which are still known for their nutcrackers today, production spread in the second half of the 19th century.

The first nutcrackers in the Erzgebirge (The Ore Mountains) shape and color scheme that is popular today were probably turned around 1870. From the beginning, they not only functional to crack nuts. Children also liked to pick up the brightly painted, doll-like figures to play with. The nutcracker figures became known beyond Central Europe when Peter Tchaikovsky adapted a Christmas story by E.T.A. Hoffmann for his extremely successful fairytale ballet “The Nutcracker”. Today, it is part of the standard Christmas repertoire of numerous theaters and opera houses.

Sculptor: Marion Huschka 

Sculpted: 2001

Height: 6.00"