01:00 AM EST on Sunday, December 18, 2005

Cartapesta For centuries, Italian artists have used paper to create sculpted art referred to as cartapesta, said Deborah Cascini, one of the founders of Angeli Art Imports. It dates to the early 17th century, when the Catholic church was in the midst of a construction boom, building elaborate cathedrals throughout southern Italy to lure people back to the church.

With all that construction, the church didn't have enough money for elaborate stone sculptures and other adornments, Cascini said. So local paper artists worked with stone carvers from the north, who'd been brought down to build the churches, and they created cartapesta as an inexpensive alternative to carved stone, she said.

They used sculpted terra cotta busts, hands and feet that are mounted on a form made of wire wrapped in straw, Cascini explained. Handmade paper, moistened with glue, is wrapped around the wire form and these are then scorched to provide a smooth, sculpted shape. Plaster is then applied in layers and then dried in the sun and smoothed by hand, to give it the sculpted look. Each piece is then hand painted. The result is a sculpture that looks like carved stone but is much lighter and less expensive than traditional sculptures.

Neapolitan Neapolitan creche figures, so named because they originated in the Naples region, are much more elaborate than their "country cousins," the cartapesta, Cascini said. They have sculpted busts and limbs, and their hand-painted glass eyes are individually hand-blown. They're also known for their clothes and accessories, from silk and lace to fine gems and precious-metal trim. It takes several artists to make a single Neapolitan figure, Cascini said, including sculptors, wood carvers, glass blowers, metal smiths and lace makers. It's not uncommon for some collectors to have large collections featuring anything from the traditional Nativity setting to an entire "village" full of people and animals.

Moschelles The micro-miniature Neapolitan creche sculptures, known as "moschelles," were introduced in the 19th century, Cascini said, when Neapolitan artists began creating tiny sculptures set against elaborate backdrops generally carved of cork or wood. They then create tiny figures, such as religious figures or animals, of sculpted terra cotta that are then hand painted.