The nutcracker
The painted wooden figure in uniform whose jaw cracks nuts.
Wooden figures that crack nuts have been made in the Erzgebirge in Saxony since the 18th century. Wilhelm Füchtner in Seiffen is usually named as the one who began to make them in larger numbers around 1872.
The figures often represent soldiers, kings and officials, figures of power one liked to be able to laugh at. The nutcracker became known all over the world through Tchaikovsky’s ballet of 1892.
Materials: Turned and carved wood (birch or beech), flax hair
Manufacture: Turned and carved by hand in the Erzgebirge, Saxony, and painted in clear colours.
The large jaw that opens with a lever handle.
The uniform with gold trim and red trousers.
The helmet or crown on the head.