Mother of Pearl

Our namesake, Father Piccirillo, was inspired by our mother-of-pearl crafting due to its unique development in Bethlehem. Mother-of-pearl first began to be used in Bethlehem in the 4th century, with the first evidence of its application in the early mosaics in the Church of the Nativity. Later, mother-of-pearl was embedded in wood pieces as an accent, casting a heavenly shine onto the massive and intricate replicas of sacred buildings that many world Christians would only ever know through these pieces of artwork when they toured around the world. Later, artists began to delicately cut into the mother-of-pearl, inking the cuts, which added dimension to their pieces. As artists became bolder and more experienced with mother-of-pearl, they began to carve it, creating dramatic scenes of the nativity story. From this evolution came the Takhreem technique, completely native to Bethlehem and found nowhere else in the world. Indeed, one can only tell the authenticity of a Bethlehem piece by the presence of this carving technique, which creates intricate designs that that frame and embellish the storytelling of each piece. This technique must be done by hand with a specialized tool, and until today cannot be replicated by any machine.