Dutch born Sydney nativity collector, Elisabeth Van Mullekom-Cserep, has donated more than 2,300 items valued at more than $150,000, to the Marian Library at the University of Dayton in the USA.
The library, home to one of the largest collections of Nativity scenes in the United States, has received a container full of Christmas scenes and related materials, the gift of an Australian woman who spent more than 30 years amassing the collection, The Cincinnati Catholic reports.
It's the largest single gift ever received by the library, which already has more than 1,600 Nativities, also called crèches, and is recognised as the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of printed materials on Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Marianist Fr Johann Roten, director of the Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, said that Elisabeth Van Mullekom-Cserep has donated more than 2,300 items, valued at more than $150,000, to the library.
"It is really a most generous gift and we are honoured that when she was ready to part with this precious collection, that she entrusted it to the library," Fr Roten said.
The gift will add about 600 three dimensional Nativity scenes from more than 60 countries to the library's collection, utilising materials that include silk, gold, embroidery, terracotta and turtle shell, Fr Roten said. The collection also includes two dimensional items such as prints, posters, artwork and even stamps depicting the Nativity, he said.
"The collection was exhibited every year in a special house built by her husband," Fr Roten said. "They welcomed the public during the Christmas season as well as schools, clubs and tourist groups to come in and see the collection."
Fr Roten said Van Mullekom-Cserep started collecting the scenes in 1977 when her family lived in Holland and continued when they emigrated to Australia in 1983. Fr Roten had encountered Van Mullekom-Cserep, a widely recognised collector, at several international Nativity scene conferences.
Fr Roten said the staff and volunteers at the library have started the mammoth task of unpacking and cataloguing the new acquisitions. To celebrate the gift and showcase items from the Australian collection, the library plans to mount a major show in November 2009 for the start of the Christmas season.
SOURCE
UD receives gift of Nativity scenes (Catholic Cincinnati)
LINKS
University of Dayton
Nativity House Sydney