Nutcrackers have been a tradition of the Erzgebirge region of Germany for centuries. The chubby Bavarian is dressed in his finest tracht and ready with his little dog to go out shooting.

Each Nutcracker from the Richard Glässer studios in Seiffen Germany is handcrafted and hand painted. I got to visit their workspace last summer and see the artisans in action.

19 cm in height