diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/AnnotationConfiguration.java b/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/AnnotationConfiguration.java
index e318381634..2be85ef991 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/AnnotationConfiguration.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/AnnotationConfiguration.java
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ import org.hibernate.mapping.IdGenerator;
 import org.hibernate.mapping.Join;
 import org.hibernate.mapping.PersistentClass;
 import org.hibernate.mapping.Table;
+import org.hibernate.persister.PersisterClassProvider;
 import org.hibernate.util.CollectionHelper;
 
 /**
@@ -267,6 +268,12 @@ public class AnnotationConfiguration extends Configuration {
 		return this;
 	}
 
+	@Override
+	public AnnotationConfiguration setPersisterClassProvider(PersisterClassProvider persisterClassProvider) {
+		super.setPersisterClassProvider( persisterClassProvider );
+		return this;
+	}
+
 	@Deprecated
 	protected class ExtendedMappingsImpl extends MappingsImpl implements ExtendedMappings {
 	}
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Configuration.java b/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Configuration.java
index 723c0c1a07..51f7232e44 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Configuration.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Configuration.java
@@ -148,6 +148,7 @@ import org.hibernate.mapping.SimpleValue;
 import org.hibernate.mapping.Table;
 import org.hibernate.mapping.TypeDef;
 import org.hibernate.mapping.UniqueKey;
+import org.hibernate.persister.PersisterClassProvider;
 import org.hibernate.proxy.EntityNotFoundDelegate;
 import org.hibernate.secure.JACCConfiguration;
 import org.hibernate.tool.hbm2ddl.DatabaseMetadata;
@@ -258,6 +259,7 @@ public class Configuration implements Serializable {
 
 	protected transient XMLHelper xmlHelper;
 	protected NamingStrategy namingStrategy;
+	private PersisterClassProvider persisterClassProvider;
 	private SessionFactoryObserver sessionFactoryObserver;
 
 	private EventListeners eventListeners;
@@ -355,6 +357,7 @@ public class Configuration implements Serializable {
 		propertyRefResolver = new HashMap<String, String>();
 		caches = new ArrayList<CacheHolder>();
 		namingStrategy = EJB3NamingStrategy.INSTANCE;
+		persisterClassProvider = null;
 		setEntityResolver( new EJB3DTDEntityResolver() );
 		anyMetaDefs = new HashMap<String, AnyMetaDef>();
 		propertiesAnnotatedWithMapsId = new HashMap<XClass, Map<String, PropertyData>>();
@@ -2860,6 +2863,26 @@ public class Configuration implements Serializable {
 		return this;
 	}
 
+	public PersisterClassProvider getPersisterClassProvider() {
+		return persisterClassProvider;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Defines a custom persister class provider.
+	 *
+	 * The persister class is chosen according to the following rules in decreasing priority:
+	 *  - the persister class defined explicitly via annotation or XML
+	 *  - the persister class returned by the PersisterClassProvider implementation (if not null)
+	 *  - the default provider as chosen by Hibernate Core (best choice most of the time)
+	 *
+	 *
+	 * @param persisterClassProvider implementation
+	 */
+	public Configuration setPersisterClassProvider(PersisterClassProvider persisterClassProvider) {
+		this.persisterClassProvider = persisterClassProvider;
+		return this;
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Retrieve the IdentifierGeneratorFactory in effect for this configuration.
 	 *
@@ -3092,6 +3115,14 @@ public class Configuration implements Serializable {
 			Configuration.this.namingStrategy = namingStrategy;
 		}
 
+		public PersisterClassProvider getPersisterClassProvider() {
+			return persisterClassProvider;
+		}
+
+		public void setPersisterClassProvider(PersisterClassProvider persisterClassProvider) {
+			Configuration.this.persisterClassProvider = persisterClassProvider;
+		}
+
 		public TypeResolver getTypeResolver() {
 			return typeResolver;
 		}
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Mappings.java b/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Mappings.java
index 3e3bb128dd..7886b3f777 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Mappings.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Mappings.java
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ import org.hibernate.mapping.TypeDef;
 import org.hibernate.mapping.AuxiliaryDatabaseObject;
 import org.hibernate.mapping.Column;
 import org.hibernate.mapping.FetchProfile;
+import org.hibernate.persister.PersisterClassProvider;
 import org.hibernate.type.TypeResolver;
 
 /**
@@ -89,6 +90,16 @@ public interface Mappings {
 	 */
 	public void setNamingStrategy(NamingStrategy namingStrategy);
 
+	/**
+	 * Get the current persister class provider implementation
+	 */
+	public PersisterClassProvider getPersisterClassProvider();
+
+	/**
+	 * Set the current persister class provider implementation
+	 */
+	public void setPersisterClassProvider(PersisterClassProvider persisterClassProvider);
+
 	/**
 	 * Returns the currently bound default schema name.
 	 *