Mothsgungel
The Mothsgungel (also Mothsgungl ) is a local Christ Child figure in Scheibenberg in the Ore Mountains . The figure, with its simple handcraft, has been known in the region since 1815 and its design differs from the other Christmas figures in the Ore Mountains. The name of the figure is derived from its maker in the 19th century - Friedrich Gottlieb Mothes - and the Erzgebirge word for boy - Gung .
Traditional design
The Mothsgungel is a small, black-haired, naked boy figure who is clad only with a golden sash around the loin . The figure is about 35 cm tall, rests on a green base and usually holds two green candle holders in which white or red candles are stuck.
Origin and history
The figure probably goes back to sacred figures that were made in Bohemia at the end of the 18th century . The figures known from Bohemia show regional peculiarities in terms of their material and their appearance. Figures made of paper mache or wood as well as clay are known. Presumably the figure came to Scheibenberg around 1815 with the clay pot manufacturer Kunze. The oldest known figure in Scheibenberg was made from layers of paper reinforced with flour paste and containing fragments of Czech text. The figure had - mostly in contrast to the boys' figures made later in Scheibenberg - skin-colored body painting and a blue loincloth . However, at least one Scheibenberger figure painted in skin color can be detected.
It is believed that most of the figurines were made by poor Czech farmers , charcoal burners and miners with the materials available to them. A small factory in Prague for the production of such figures from clay is said to have existed since around 1800. These figures were called the Prague Angels . In contrast to their use in the Ore Mountains, the figures were venerated as good luck charms all year round in Bohemia .
The light-bearing boy, widespread in the Ore Mountains around Scheibenberg, shows creative influences from putti , the regionally widespread Bornkinnel and angels . Initially, the figure was made by the clay pot manufacturer Kunze, who made plaster of paris - casting molds for the body and arms of the Bohemian figure , in which a plaster mass was set. The plaster blank was then put together, plastered and painted. Sometimes paper was mixed with clay that was extracted from the Scheibenberg , pressed into the mold and then dried.
In 1818 the Kunz'sche factory burned down and a former employee - Friedrich Gottfried Mothes - took over the production of the figures, which were subsequently named after him. Mothes peddled the figures as far as Chemnitz and thus contributed to the regional spread. The characteristic figures were made by the Mothes family and their descendants as a sideline . When a descendant of the family bought the original home of the Mothes in 1957, they found a damaged and completely intact Mothsgungel form, which was used again as a model for the figures that were manufactured in the family business by Walter Dorias until 2005. Contrary to the source statement: "After he (Werner Dorias) retired , the local artist Ray Kunzmann took over the production of the replicas of the figures." , Ray Kunzmann brought his replicas, not authorized by Werner Doris, onto the market in the mid-1990s . So he by no means took over the production. These figures differed greatly from the originals in terms of appearance, especially in terms of the material used. Werner Doris also publicly criticized these replicas in personal conversations, as can be seen from an advertisement from the Scheibenberg Official Gazette from January 1996:
"Mothshaisl". Not only recently woken up, but for years! Repairs possible. W. Dorias, Zechenweg 1, Scheibenberg.
Werner Dorias taught his granddaughter, who was nine years old at the time (mid-1990s), how to make traditional products using the original shapes. He linked this with the hope of being able to continue this almost two-hundred-year-old tradition in the true sense of the word.
The Mothsgungel figurines are almost exclusively found in Scheibenberg and the surrounding area today.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Manfred Blechschmidt: Christmas customs in the Ore Mountains . Altis-Verlag, Friedrichsthal 2010, ISBN 978-3-910195-60-8 , p. 99.
- ↑ scheibenberg.de: News on the history of the Mothgungl , accessed on December 15, 2014.
- ↑ Manfred Blechschmidt: Christmas customs in the Ore Mountains . Altis-Verlag, Friedrichsthal 2010, ISBN 978-3-910195-60-8 , p. 100.
- ↑ smul.sachsen.de: Basaltpfad Scheibenberg ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on December 15, 2014 (PDF).
- ^ A b Manfred Blechschmidt: Christmas customs in the Ore Mountains . Altis-Verlag, Friedrichsthal 2010, ISBN 978-3-910195-60-8 , p. 102
- ↑ Hendrik Heidler: Dr Scheimbarger Mothsgung . In: Ortschronistisches . Scheibenberg January 3, 2016.
- ↑ a b Werner Dorias: Official Journal Scheibenberg . Ed .: City of Scheibenberg. No. 01/1996 . Heidler and Fahle, Scheibenberg.
literature
- Manfred Blechschmidt: Christmas customs in the Ore Mountains . Altis-Verlag, Friedrichsthal 2010, ISBN 978-3-910195-60-8 , p. 99ff.
- Werner Markgraf: Scheibenberger Mothsgungel lives on. Erzgebirgische Heimatblätter, 15th year, issue 6, 1993, p. 29f.
- Karl Hans Pollmer: Light-bearing boy figure: The Mothsgungel . Der Heimatfreund, 19th year, issue 12, pp. 279f.
