{besps}ToyMuseum{/besps}
{besps_c}0|dolls.jpg|Toy Worlds Museum Basle’s collection features dolls from the heyday of doll manufacture between around 1870 and 1920. Artistic creations from almost every famous manufacturer, especially from the major strongholds in Germany and France, are included.|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|teddybears.jpg|With more than 2,500 venerable teddy bears, the museum’s collection is the most extensive in the world.|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|folding_sugar.jpg|This statue made of sugar and clothed with folded napkins is part of the museum’s special exhibit, Napkin Folding: A Western Folding Art.|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|folding_griffin.jpg|This griffin is just part of a larger centerpiece in the Napkin Folding exhibit.|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|folding_fountain.jpg|Flanked by a lion and a griffin, this working fountain is one of the centerpieces of the Napkin Folding exhibit.|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|light_chandelier.jpg|Part of the museum’s Christmas exhibit, this spinning pyramid chandelier is made of wood and decorated with mouth-blown milk-glass animals and milk-glass-beaded garlands.|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|light_mossman.jpg|Another Christmas pyramid features a moss-man with a porcelain head. Heat rising from the candles causes the blades at the top to rotate.|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|light_pyramid.jpg|This domed Christmas pyramid contains a nativity scene with figures made of composition.|{/besps_c}
In addition to its standing exhibits of dolls, teddy bears, and other toys, Toy World Museum Basle has announced two special exhibitions which will run through the holiday season: Napkin Folding: A Western Folding Art and Christmas Light: Peace, Faith, Love, Hope.
Napkin Folding: A Western Folding Art opens Oct. 20 and runs through April 7, 2013. The custom of artfully folding napkins dates back to the 16th century, when the folded napkins, alongside edible centerpieces and other ephemeral displays, were part of a festive occasion in Europe.
Master folder Joan Sallas created the objects on display, including a table fountain with a griffin and a lion, a ship, and many others, all made of folded linen. Sallas will also conduct napkin-folding workshops on Saturdays and Sundays between 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. during the special exhibition’s run, and the museum is holding a competition for visitors to see who can create the most original, beautiful, and unusual piece by folding a paper napkin; the entries will be judged by museum visitors.
Christmas Light: Peace, Faith, Love, Hope is an exhibit dedicated to the Christmas candle. It opens Dec. 1 and runs through Feb. 10, 2013. Christmas pyramids, Advent lanterns, angel chimes, and illuminated houses will be among the candlelit items on display.
Find out more about the museum and these special exhibitions at www.toy-worlds-museum-basle.ch.