pucciManuli - A Remarkable Collection

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The exclusive handcrafted work of the Erzgebirge Mannelmacher – makers of little people from the Ore Mountains – has been carefully nurtured for generations.  Thanks to the workshops of Walter Werner and his three (3) sons, these century-old motifs and traditional techniques live on today, showcasing the creative preservation of their historical heritage.

Christian Werner has committed himself to the almost extinct art of Reifendrehen – ring-turning.  Since the beginning of the 19th century, craftsmen in the Erzgebirge region, and specifically Seiffen, have been making Reifendrehen animals. This unique production process was the result of the need to produce more than one (1) wooden figure, or parts of a figure, at one time.  Each unique creature was crafted from what begins as a slice of a tree.  Using a wood lathe, originally powered by the descent of the village’s streams, they hone specific indentations in the ring for each specific animal.  That ring is then sliced to create 20-30 individual animals.  Each individual animal is then precisely hand-carved using knives, hand-painted and finished and embellished - complete with horns, tails, and ears.  

Christian Werner is one of the very few remaining workshops that continue to master Reifendrehen in its original form. Counting himself, he is one of only eight people considered masters in the craft, and is currently teaching his son to master this centuries-old tradition.  In Christian’s workshop, the rings are turned out of fir wood, just as they were two hundred years ago.  Through the use of only top-notch handcraftsmanship do these little wooden creatures come to life, each with its own individual character and expression.