Hand-Sculpted White Ceramic Nativity Scene

This is a hand-formed ceramic nativity set featuring a minimalist, folk-art style. The piece is constructed from what appears to be a light-colored earthenware or stoneware clay, coated in a thick, monochromatic white semi-gloss glaze. The assembly consists of four primary elements: a figure representing Joseph holding a shepherd's crook, a figure representing Mary, a small infant figure in a manger, and a curved backplate with an embossed five-pointed star. The figures are faceless, utilizing simple shapes and clay folds to suggest identity and emotion, a hallmark of contemporary primitive religious art. The Joseph figure includes textured clay to represent a beard and a wide-brimmed hat, while Mary is depicted with draped clay suggesting a headscarf. The background plate is a semi-circular slab, roughly finished at the edges, which serves as a stable base for the scene. There are visible fingerprints and tool marks throughout the glaze, indicating a handmade, studio-crafted origin rather than mass production. The condition appears sound with no visible structural cracks, though the glaze shows slight unevenness and pool marks characteristic of kiln-fired hobbyist or local artisan work. The style suggests a late 20th-century to early 21st-century origin, likely made in a community pottery studio or as a one-of-a-kind art piece.