ADVENT CALENDAR 2025

December 7

SPANISH NATIVITY

Belenes Puig S.L.
Barcelona, Spain
Clay, fabric, metal
2014

In 1933, Jose Puig Llobera established Belenes Puig S.L., a family-owned company famous for its Nativity figures (belenes, the Spanish word for Bethlehem, can also refer to a Nativity scene). The company is still run by the family, now operated by the third generation. The figures are handcrafted from clay molds, painted, and dressed with stiffened fabrics.

These Puig figures have been influenced by an elaborate Nativity scene created by Francisco Salzillo between 1776 and 1783 for the Murcian nobleman Jesualdo Riquelme y Fontes. Salzillo was a noted Baroque sculptor of religious figures in polychromed wood. His Nativity includes hundreds of pieces and is located in Murcia, Spain, in the museum that bears his name: Museo Salzillo.

Glencairn Museum’s World Nativities exhibition runs from November 28, 2025, to January 25, 2026. Visit us at Follow the Star: A 2025 Advent Calendar.