Susan's Christmas Shop Newsletter
Easter 2025
April 28th, 2025
Dear Customers and Friends of Susan's Christmas Shop,
On Palm Sunday in Santa Fe, there is a tradition. People from three downtown churches, the Cathedral Basilica, the Church of the Holy Faith, and the First Presbyterian Church, walk from their churches to the plaza carrying palms. The Presbyterians were led by a bagpiper this year. Each church brought its choir members and their sheet music.
After three choirs sang and religious leaders spoke, there was a procession around the plaza before returning to the respective churches.
On Easter Sunday, I chose to drive to Santa Ana Pueblo for the 8:00 AM mass. It's an hour drive. I've done this several times on earlier Easter Sundays because I enjoy being inside the ancient adobe church, which is locked most of the time. The clerestory window allows daylight to fall on the beautiful reredos (altar screen) with its several colonial oil paintings, framed in gold, and its muted colors of ivory and pale green on the carved, twisted wooden columns. There are no pews, but a few folding chairs and some wooden benches. I sat on the last wooden bench in the back of the church on the right side, the side for women in the old days. After I sat, other people came in and stood behind me. I enjoyed being there for an hour, and I lined up to see the historic figure of Santa Ana (Saint Ann) before I left, so I was one of the last to leave the church.
My Santa Ana friend, Carlton Gallegos was performing a ceremonial drum roll on his snare drum outside the church as the congregation left. He saw me and stopped drumming. I told him I had a gift for him and asked if I should give it to him at the pueblo or at my shop in Santa Fe. It is unwise to give a gift in public at a pueblo, because you could inspire gossip or envy. He said, "Come to my house". In that private setting, I gave him the gift. When he saw it, he said, "Oh wow." It was a Hopi men's dance kilt, purchased at Hopi sixty years ago by some Anglo friends who gave it to me with a wish that it could go back to Hopi. Carlton is half Hopi.
Carlton said that not all pueblo men can wear a kilt like that, but he is a member of a certain society, so he will be able to wear it in ceremonial occasions. I know he will treasure it and take care of it and pass it down in his family. He went to his truck to find a gift for me, a large melon. We parted ways, him very happy and me very satisfied.
The leather ornament in the photo is a replica of a pueblo man's kilt made by Sean Morningstar of Cochiti Pueblo. I'm asking Sean to make more of these special ornaments.
Now that Easter is over, my Easter merchandise is being put away and nativities are coming out. Here is a German wooden one in a contemporary style. The company is KöHLER KUNSTHANDWERK, KöHLER Artistic Hand Work. Melissa and I ordered this nativity at Frankfurt's ChristmasWorld last February.
Each piece is made of solid wood. The nativity is $410 without the arch. The arch is an additional $140. The pieces come in a box with compartments and a graphic guide showing which piece goes where in the box. We have never had this nativity before. It is very distinctive. Call if you want one. 505-983-2127
I recently acquired a large nativity collection from the estate of Elenor Coke. She was married to Van Deren Coke, my favorite professor of Art History when I was a student at the University of New Mexico many years ago. Both Elenor and Van Deren Coke were able to recognize talented artisans as they traveled and collected. Their choices are exceptional. Both are deceased now, and their daughter, Browning, is ready to part with these unusual nativities, collected in the 1950's and 1960's.
The large Peruvian retablo with hinged doors was collected in the 1950's. Inside are three scenes. The top scene is of a nativity. The middle scene is a fiesta. The bottom scene is a hat shop. All the scenes are full of details. The price is $800, although it was appraised for $1500. It is seventeen inches tall. (35 cm.)
Also collected at that time is a much smaller Peruvian retablo. It is $75. It is six and a half inches tall (16 cm.). It shows a nativity with a simple, vintage charm. Both sides were slightly damaged when someone wiped the water-soluble paint with a wet rag, but this minor defect is not seen when the door is open.
The green glazed nativity is probably from Mexico, although Browning thinks it is from Columbia. It is an unusual shape, with Mary, Joseph, three wise men and several animals all focused on Baby Jesus in the center. The base has a diameter of five and a half inches (13.5 cm.). The price is $75.
Josefina Aguilar lived in a village in Oaxaca. She made painted pottery figures. Her style is recognizable, and her work is in museum collections. The nativity on the left is signed by Josefina. It is $500. The nativity on the right is also by Josefina but is not signed. It is $300. The figures of both sets are four and a half inches tall (12 cm.). Before Josefina died, she lost her eyesight, so it is unusual to find her work for sale. These two Josefina nativities have been resting quietly in a private collection for over 50 years.
The Mexican painted tin nativity is in very good condition. There are ten figures. Each figure can stand. The tallest figure is six inches tall (15 cm.) The price is $80.
The woven nativity is from Ecuador. The diameter of the base is five and a half inches (14 cm.) It is a high-quality weaving, full of details, and in excellent condition. The price is $100.
The wooden nativity on a platform is from Portugal. I have never seen a Portuguese nativity like it. Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus are there, along with three wise men with gifts. They stand on platform that is eighteen inches wide (46 cm.) An angel and a star are attached to a wooden arch. The figures are turned wood that has been painted. The bottom of the base says, "Made in Portugal by Tom". It is very distinctive. The price is $250.
Please call my shop of you want any of these nativities. There are several more in the estate, and they will be described in a future newsletter. 505-983-2127
The lilacs of Santa Fe are famous, but some years are better than others. This is a good year. My vinca is blooming as well. If you come to Santa Fe soon, you will see these beautiful signs of spring. If you live too far away to do this, I send my fond greetings, no matter where you are in this wide world,
Your friend in Santa Fe,
Sussan Topp Weber
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