The Adoration of the Magi
Panel
ca. 1120 - ca. 1150 (made)
ca. 1120 - ca. 1150 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is a relief made in ca. 1120-1150 century Nothern Spain. This relief in whalebone represents the Adoration of the Magi. This relief is one of the most exotic images in Romanesque art. Its function, date and place of origin have been widely debated. The argument for a Spanish origin is partly based upon stylistic parallels with a bone Virgin and Child that was found in Spain and is now in the Musee du Louvre, Paris. But also for example the unusual but very distinctive gauffered coil of the Virgin seems only to be found in sculptures in Northern Spain in the Romanesque period.
The quality of the carving - its sharply defined and abundant decorative clements creating a horror vacui effect - has more connections with Spanish art than with the art of nothern Europe. The precise function of this panel has not been ascertained. It is too bulky for a book cover, and its irregular shape would make it unsuitable for most purposes; it was perhaps a portable votive image.
Despite the oddness, the sculpture is the work of a truly gifted if ideosyncratic craftsman, who has created a work of art of great majesty and striking power. The scene of the Adoration of the Magi, with the kings represented as pilgrims is said to have been very popular along the road to Santiago de Compostela. The liminal iconography of the plaque, with the beasts fighting at the feet of the Virgin below, and an owl, a symbol of darkness, above, might be interpreted as reflecting the circumstances of 'reconquista' in which the object was produced.
The quality of the carving - its sharply defined and abundant decorative clements creating a horror vacui effect - has more connections with Spanish art than with the art of nothern Europe. The precise function of this panel has not been ascertained. It is too bulky for a book cover, and its irregular shape would make it unsuitable for most purposes; it was perhaps a portable votive image.
Despite the oddness, the sculpture is the work of a truly gifted if ideosyncratic craftsman, who has created a work of art of great majesty and striking power. The scene of the Adoration of the Magi, with the kings represented as pilgrims is said to have been very popular along the road to Santiago de Compostela. The liminal iconography of the plaque, with the beasts fighting at the feet of the Virgin below, and an owl, a symbol of darkness, above, might be interpreted as reflecting the circumstances of 'reconquista' in which the object was produced.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Adoration of the Magi (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Carved whalebone (identified as the radius of the Rorqual, or Finner whale). |
| Brief description | Panel relief, The Adoration of the Magi, carved whale's bone, possibly Northern Spain, ca. 1120-50 |
| Physical description | Panel, relief in whale's bone tapering towards the top, The Adoration of the Magi. The Virgin dominates the relief. She is shown haloed, seated beneath a round arch from which hangs a short curtain which is looped round columns at the sides; Covering her head is a distinctive pleated head dress, the so-called gauffered coif. This is topped by a jewelled diadem. She is seated on a throne entirely hidden by her body. She holds a flower in her right hand and with her left supports the Child, who is seated on her left knee, his right hand raised in benediction and holding a book in his left. To the left the three Kings, crowned and carrying long staves, stand offering gifts. At the feet of the Virgin are foliage scrolls and a small date-palm. On the roof of the rather fantastic building above the Virgin's head are figures of a man blowing a horn (now broken away) and an owl. In a panel at the bottom is a centaur with a bow and arrows and two lionesses fighting with a bear and a boar. The elaborately pleated robes are decorated with lines of dots and edged with foliate and geometrical designs. On the back, near the lower right-hand corner, are three concentric inscribed circles. Relief in whale's bone tapering towards the top. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | From the Webb collection, £218. Formerly in the collection of Prince Soltykoff. Historical significance: This relief is one of the strangest surviving representations of the Adoration of the Magi and the largest surviving medieval carving in bone. The artist's love of decoration can be seen in the elaborately pleated drapery edged with geometric designs; even the area around the Virgins feet is filled by foliate scrolls and a small tree. Despite the oddness, the sculpture is the work of a truly gifted if ideosyncratic craftsman, who has created a work of art of great majesty and striking power. The scene of the Adoration of the Magi, with the kings represented as pilgrims is said to have been very popular along the road to Santiago de Compostela. The liminal iconography of the plaque, with the beasts fighting at the feet of the Virgin below, and an owl, a symbol of darkness, above, might be interpreted as reflecting the circumstances of 'reconquista' in which the object was produced. |
| Historical context | The present relief was thought to be of English origin but it is now established that it was made in Northern Spain. It is stylistically closely related to the figure of the Virgin and Child in bone which was found in Spain, now preserved in the Louvre and the production of ivories in Leon. Iconographically closest is a tympanum on the twelfth-century church of Sta. Maria at Uncastillo: there is a similar disposition of elements, and the details are the same, even down to the capital of the arch. The unusual but very distinctive gauffered coil of the Virgin seems only to be found in sculptures in Northern Spain in the Romanesque period. The precise function of the plaque has not been ascertained. It is too bulky for a bookcover, and its irregular shape would make it unsuitable for most purposes; it was perhaps a portable vortive image. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This is a relief made in ca. 1120-1150 century Nothern Spain. This relief in whalebone represents the Adoration of the Magi. This relief is one of the most exotic images in Romanesque art. Its function, date and place of origin have been widely debated. The argument for a Spanish origin is partly based upon stylistic parallels with a bone Virgin and Child that was found in Spain and is now in the Musee du Louvre, Paris. But also for example the unusual but very distinctive gauffered coil of the Virgin seems only to be found in sculptures in Northern Spain in the Romanesque period. The quality of the carving - its sharply defined and abundant decorative clements creating a horror vacui effect - has more connections with Spanish art than with the art of nothern Europe. The precise function of this panel has not been ascertained. It is too bulky for a book cover, and its irregular shape would make it unsuitable for most purposes; it was perhaps a portable votive image. Despite the oddness, the sculpture is the work of a truly gifted if ideosyncratic craftsman, who has created a work of art of great majesty and striking power. The scene of the Adoration of the Magi, with the kings represented as pilgrims is said to have been very popular along the road to Santiago de Compostela. The liminal iconography of the plaque, with the beasts fighting at the feet of the Virgin below, and an owl, a symbol of darkness, above, might be interpreted as reflecting the circumstances of 'reconquista' in which the object was produced. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 142-1866 |
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| Record created | February 11, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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