Original Heide

From the centuries-old tradition of the Nativity scenes of Val Gardena in the Italian Alp… each piece of Original Heide Nativity Art is signed by hand as a guarantee of authenticity and unique craftsmanship. Each figure’s head, hands and feet are carved from alpine maple. Available in select sizes here as well as other sizes by request.

Original Heide is an iconic family business which was established over fifty years ago. Their very high quality, limited edition figures are born in Pontives, in Val Gardena, Northern Italy in the Italian Alps. The entire family is involved in the creation of the collections. With all of their designs, they specialize in the creation of dramatic nativity figures with carved wooden faces, hands and feet, that are embellished with wonderful hand painted, starched fabrics.

The bodies are designed by father/sculptor Heinrich who has been carving for over fifty years. The clothing is lovingly created by his daughter Ivonne and his wife Mariarosa, together with their assistants Christine and Michaela. The intricate painting is executed with great care by his daughter Romina and her assistant Werner. The animals are created by Heinrich’s son, sculptor Gerald, who continues his studies at the Art Academy in Munich.

Navidad Nativities does not stock any nativity figures. All figures are directly imported from all our studios in Europe. Populare sizes available from Original Heide are priced on our website. The complete list of sizes available from this studio, in inches, is:

3.9 • 4.7 • 5.5 • 7.8 • 11.8 • 15.7 • 21.6

Custom figure designs with sufficient lead times are welcome, as are life sized figures. Original Heide nativities are part of the collections of major museums including the Vatican in Rome.

For the IMMANUEL COLLECTION, fabrics are starched and then each piece is individually draped on wire forms and hand painted in great detail with period authenticity and fully accessorized.

The RUSTIKA COLLECTION represents alpine Tyrolean peasants and farmers with starched fabrics that are also hand painted and highly detailed.

The HANNAH COLLECTION features unstarched fabrics that are softly draped and may change based on availability of different fabrics, and are at the discretion of the artist working on each figure.

Please note: minimum order for nativity figures is $300 per manufacturing studio.  More information is available under the FAQs.

From the centuries-old tradition of the Nativity scenes of Val Gardena in the Italian Alp… each piece of Original Heide Nativity Art is signed by hand as a guarantee of authenticity and unique craftsmanship. Each figure’s head, hands and feet are carved from alpine maple. Available in select sizes here as well as other sizes by request.

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The new Original Heide Book is here!