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"Great is the power of memory that dwells in places." (from Cicero)

Angel candlestick

This angel candlestick on a marble column base was inspired by 17th-century Italy. Its form and colouring could have been inspired by existing ceramic items. The round face of the angel has ruddy cheeks, while there are brown curls painted on its forehead. Angel candlesticks were always produced in pairs and formed part of serial domestic art in Gröden in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The baptism of Christ

This artistically carved and delicately painted group of sculptures depicting the baptism of Christ in Jordan demonstrates the artistic quality of the baroque workshops. However, the Gröden masters had competition from young, unqualified wood carvers, who would carve during the winter without paying tax. On 1679, the masters made an appeal at Wirtshaus zu Janesc, which was rejected due to the difficult economic situation of the wood carvers doing the work as a sideline.

Adam and Eve with apple tree

Theresia Gruber, known as Tresl da Ulëta, bequeathed Museum Gherdëina a collection of terracotta figurines and ceramic works. Daughter of two artists, and an art teacher herself, she dealt with a variety of materials all her life and was a promoter of the Ladin language back in the 1930s. In 1970, when she was 73 years old, she set up a pottery school in Belém in Brazil. 

The Instruments of the Passion

Flagellation, a crown of thorns, hammer, nails, pliers, lances, vinegar-soaked sponge and ladder, dice and Jesus' garments: nothing connected with Christ's crucifixion was left out of this baroque crucifixion group from Gröden. The reason is simple: the Instruments of the Passion were considered powerful weapons in the fight against evil. The house that this devotional item originates from is not known.

Flight to Egypt

This small arolla pine sculpture of the holy family on their flight to Egypt dates back to the 17th century. It is one of the oldest works in Museum Gherdëina and an early example of wood carving in Gröden. Carved depictions of the nativity story were developed in the Middle Ages, and, as of the 18th century, lots of families in Gröden specialised in carving crib figurines.

Lenten cloths of St. Jakob

The only Lenten cloth in South Tyrol used to cover the altar during Lent. The story of salvation is told in 24 pictures: from Christ's suffering to the Ascension and Whitsun. The spaces are ordered into four rows, the scenes teem with figures. The cloth painted with tempera on primed canvas was in use in St. Jakob's chapel until 1950, painter unknown.

Red chalk drawing of Bierjun

This bed chamber was built onto the now-demolished Bierjun farmhouse in Überwasser in 1456 and only revealed its secret beneath ultraviolet light: drawings in red chalk of scenes ranging from the passion of Christ to the mounting of the bell in Pufels church tower, and a bear hunt. These red chalk drawings are a rare example of religious piety in a private rural context before 1500. One farm owner was provost of St. Leonhard's chapel in Pufels in the 17th century.