Relief, Adoration of the Magi, mother of pearl, South German, ca. 1460-1500

Relief in mother of pearl of the Adoration of the Magi. The Virgin is seated on the left with the Child on her left knee. The first king bareheaded and in long robes offers gold in a box; his crown is on the ground. In the right background are the other two kings, one in long robes holding a chalice, the other in trunk hose, doublet and cloak holds a tower-shaped censer. Both wear caps. Joseph kneels behind the Virgin, and above the star is set on a cusp on the rim of the relief. The background is cut away.

Given by Mr T. Whitcombe Green

Given by Mr T. Whitcombe Green in 1929.

Historical significance: This piece, showing the Adoration of the Magi, is convex and partly cut away at the back, and may have been set into a medallion to be carried, fixed to a portable altar, or possibly worn. The donor shown behind the Virgin on the left may be a portrait of the original owner of the piece. The star which guided the Magi to the nativity is seen on the upper left.

Mother of pearl (carved mollusc shell) was valued as a semi-precious material, and used for small-scale sculptures in Germany, the Netherlands and Bohemia from the fourteenth century onwards, and above all in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Often such works depicted religious subjects (though some portraits are also known), and were probably particularly valued because they could serve as portable devotional items. Engraved sources frequently provided the basis of the compositions, and the carvings were generally produced in anonymous workshops. The material was valued as much as the skill in carving. Some mother of pearl reliefs were attached to crucifixes, reliquaries, portable altars or rosaries, while others were later valued as Kunstkammer objects, and set into caskets and cabinets.

South German. Perhaps based on a composition by the 15th century German engraver known as the Master E.S.

Mother-of-pearl, jet coral and amber were selected by craftsmen for their beauty, durability and rarity. These materials often occurred in a particular geographical region. Coral for example was prevalent in Sicily and amber along the Baltic coast. Many of the religious items were portable, as were the small portraits. They were often made locally and then taken elsewhere. Pilgrims from all over Europe bought the jet images made in Santiago de Compostela.

A.35-1929