This plaquette was probably worn as a pendant. It shows the Virgin kneeling in adoration on the left; the Child Christ lies on a fold of her mantle, with two angels beside him. To the right the heads of the ox and ass, and St. Joseph kneeling behind them with a candle. Above, the roof of a shed, and three angels under it; at the left side are two shepherds looking over the wattled fence.

Plaquettes are small plaques or reliefs made of bronze, brass, lead or precious metals. They originated in the 1440ies with the desire to reproduce coins and hardstone engravings from ancient Greece and Rome. Some were made as collector's pieces, to be viewed and displayed in private, and others for practical purposes. They also inspired designs in other media, from architecture to book-bindings.
Whilst religious plaquettes had both public and private functions, and mounted religious plaquettes, known as paxes, were held up during mass for the kiss of peace, those with a secular subject matter were usually for private, personal use. They were used as pendants, desk ornaments, and applied to functional objects such as pounce-pots. They were also valued as fine miniature works of art.