The Psychology of Miniatures

Material culture as a field can be a problematic area to categorize. It is often applied to functional objects and used to ascertain such meanings. Miniatures and their intersections with the study of the collection, education, and popular culture are a little-explored area of research. In much of Western society, miniaturized forms such as dollhouses, dioramas, furniture, pottery, and other domestic cultures are viewed as objects of play. This is despite the consideration that many of these were historically conceived as decorative art to be collected by the adult bourgeoise. In a manner of building understanding and vocabulary around the study of miniaturization as art history and material culture phenomenon, this article utilizes a case study of the Creche/Presepe or the miniaturized Neopolitan Nativity Scene.