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Woodcarved Beggars originated as figures carved mostly in swiss pine, painted, or stained dark brown, generally from Gröden - Val Gardena in the Alps.Reinhard Haller, "Volkstümliche Schnitzerei. Profane Kleinplastiken", Callwey, 1989 (German). .
In Val Gardena, the carving industry began as early as at the beginning of the 17th century. The woodcarvers produced mainly statues for churches and religious figurines.Arthur Haberlandt, "Die Holzschnitzerei im Grödener Tale", Werke der Volkskunst, Band II, Heft 1. Kunst und Verlagsanstalt J. Löwy, Vienna 1914 (German) - part 2 Table 1
/ref> The production of beggars started in the late 17th century. Beggars were part of the rich production from Gröden of figurines of genre art as the figurines representing the four seasons. In the baroque period (17th–18th century), the production of those figurines was very rich; Gröden counted up to 300 carvers. The woodcarving production was sold through a network of merchants originating from Gröden and residing in most of the major European cities. The last production of beggars ended in the beginning of the 19th century when the carving of wooden toys prevailed in the valley.
/ref> The beggars come mostly in pairs—one female and one male. The female beggar carries a bag or an old musical instrument (
/ref> In the antique market, these figurines are often referred to as ''southern German,'' although the region of origin is located in the former Austrian Tyrol, now
''Istitut Ladin San Martin de Tor'', Ladinia Nr. 15, 1991 (Italian). Page 85
Woodcarved Beggars originated as figures carved mostly in swiss pine, painted, or stained dark brown, generally from Gröden - Val Gardena in the Alps.Reinhard Haller, "Volkstümliche Schnitzerei. Profane Kleinplastiken", Callwey, 1989 (German). .
In Val Gardena, the carving industry began as early as at the beginning of the 17th century. The woodcarvers produced mainly statues for churches and religious figurines.Arthur Haberlandt, "Die Holzschnitzerei im Grödener Tale", Werke der Volkskunst, Band II, Heft 1. Kunst und Verlagsanstalt J. Löwy, Vienna 1914 (German) - part 2 Table 1/ref> The production of beggars started in the late 17th century. Beggars were part of the rich production from Gröden of figurines of genre art as the figurines representing the four seasons. In the baroque period (17th–18th century), the production of those figurines was very rich; Gröden counted up to 300 carvers. The woodcarving production was sold through a network of merchants originating from Gröden and residing in most of the major European cities. The last production of beggars ended in the beginning of the 19th century when the carving of wooden toys prevailed in the valley.
/ref> The beggars come mostly in pairs—one female and one male. The female beggar carries a bag or an old musical instrument (
hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...
), and the man a stolen baby and something on his back as a back basket. Arthur Haberlandt, "Die Holzschnitzerei im Grödener Tale", Werke der Volkskunst, Band II, Heft 1. Kunst und Verlagsanstalt J. Löwy, Vienna 1914 (German) - part 1/ref> In the antique market, these figurines are often referred to as ''southern German,'' although the region of origin is located in the former Austrian Tyrol, now
South Tyrol
South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...
in Italy.
An important collection of these figurines is on display at the Museum Gröden in Urtijëi - Gröden. Other museums also have some of these figurines on display, like the Civic Museum in Bolzano, the Tyrolean Folk Art Museum in Innsbruck and the Bavarian National Museum
The Bavarian National Museum () in Munich is one of the most important museums of decorative arts in Europe and List of largest art museums, one of the largest art museums in Germany. Since the beginning the collection has been divided into two ...
in Munich.Paolo Caneppele, "I petocchi nella scultura gardenese del 700 e 800".''Istitut Ladin San Martin de Tor'', Ladinia Nr. 15, 1991 (Italian). Page 85
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