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Not currently on display at the V&A

The Adoration of the Magi

Group
c.1500-20 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Netherlands (made)

The Adoration of the Magi takes place under the thatched canopy of the stable, with the three kings clustered together in front of the Virgin and Child. This sculpture would originally have complemented a larger pictorical sequence within an altarpiece, either devoted to the Infancy and Passion of Christ or the Life of the Virgin. It is probably the work of a North Netherlandish workshop in the first quarter of the sixteenth century.


Object details

Category
Sculpture
Object type
Group
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Group
  • Base
TitleThe Adoration of the Magi
Materials and techniques
Oak
Oak
Carving
Brief description
Group, Adoration of the Magi, carved oak, Netherlands, ca. 1500-20
Physical description
The Adoration of the Magi, takes place under the thatched canopy of the stable, the three kings clustered together in front of the Virgin and Child. Relief in oak, from an altapiece.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21cm
  • Width: 15cm
Object history
Bought from Christie's, London, 13 February 1891. (Catalogue of the Collection of Objects of Art formed by Edward Hailstone, Esq., F.S.A., deceased, removed from Walton Hall, Wakefield, lot 667; £5 15s 0d)
Subjects depicted
Virgin and Child
Joseph
Summary
The Adoration of the Magi takes place under the thatched canopy of the stable, with the three kings clustered together in front of the Virgin and Child. This sculpture would originally have complemented a larger pictorical sequence within an altarpiece, either devoted to the Infancy and Passion of Christ or the Life of the Virgin. It is probably the work of a North Netherlandish workshop in the first quarter of the sixteenth century.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division South Kensington Museum acquired during the Year 1891. Arranged according to the dates of acquisition, with appendix and indices. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1892. pp. 19
  • Williamson, Paul. Netherlandish Sculpture 1450-1550. London: 2002. pp. 76-7.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
96-1891

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Record createdNovember 10, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O171990/the-adoration-of-the-magi-group-unknown/
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