Sebastian Köpcke (*1967), Volker Weinhold (*1962) | Photographers
Seduced by the serpent, Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil and became conscious of themselves. Representations of Adam and Eve are found on many objects from the Christmas context: on pyramids, candle arches or also as a separately designed couple under a tree. That Adam and Eve are linked with Christmas is apparent from a glance at the ecclesiastical calendar: 24 December has always been Adam and Eve Day. That which initiated their Fall and led to their expulsion from Paradise was said to have found its end and the redemption of Christendom with the birth of Jesus.
Here it is merely an apple of papier-mâché that refers to Adam and Eve’s indulgence in the forbidden fruit – and this without any reference to Christmas. This so-called bride or love apple typifies the forbidden fruit and its possible consequences simply.
This is a wedding gift from Upper Lusatia or Silesia, similar to the stork rider. Both are vessels, the tiny contents of which (a baby with utensils appropriate for the care of infants or toddlers) humorously point to what comprised the original sin of man in the popular imagining of the nineteenth century and what libidinous seduction – the matter with the apple – results in: one thing leads to another.
Producer unknown
MATERIAL & TECHNIQUE
papier-mâché, shaped, wood, turned, painted, cardboard, textile, sewn
DIMENSIONS
apple H 8.8 cm
MUSEUM
Museum für Sächsische Volkskunst
PLACE, DATING
Upper Lusatia or Silesia, 19th century
INVENTORY NUMBER
G 988