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8 7/16 x 6 15/16 in. (21.5 x 17.6 cm)
medium: watercolor with graphite underdrawing on cream, moderately thick, moderately textured wove paper
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
The print belongs to a set of four engravings considered to be an incomplete series of episodes of the Life of the Virgin, which also includes the <em>Nativity </em>(1939.448),<em> The Flight into Egypt</em> (1954.260), and<em> The Death of the Virgin </em>(1956.744). Here, Martin Schongauer portrayed the visit of the three magi and their long retinue as witnesses to the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ as recounted in the biblical book of Matthew. The Virgin Mary is seated in front of the entrance of a stable made up from the ruins of a building. She holds the Christ child on her lap and hands him a box containing gold, the gift from the oldest of the three Kings, Melchior, who is kneeling in front of them. Behind Melchior are the other two Kings, Caspar and Balthazar, who offer a censer in the shape of a Gothic monstrance and a goblet of myrrh, respectively. At the top of the roof of the stable, the star of Bethlehem blazes.
Germany, 15th century
engraving
Did you know...
Late medieval depictions of the adoration of the magi such as this often depicted the magi Balthazar as a black African as seen here.
Dudley P. Allen Fund
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This precious volume was obviously highly prized by its owner, the French-born King of Navarre, who had his coat of arms painted on no less than twenty folios. Rather than directly commissioning this manuscript from a specific workshop, it seems that Charles the Noble acquired his book of hours -- perhaps ready-made for the luxury market -- while on a trip to Paris in 1404-05. A collaborative effort, six painting styles are evidenced within the pages of this codex, those of two Italians, two Frenchmen, and two Netherlanders. The painter who was responsible for the planning and decoration of the book, and who produced seventeen of the large miniatures, was a Bolognese artist known as the Master of the Brussels Initials. His principal assistant, responsible for most of the borders, was a Florentine who signed his name "Zecho" da Firenze on folio 208 verso.
France, Paris
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Codex: 20.3 x 15.7 x 7 cm (8 x 6 3/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
At the right of the tsuba is a humble hut. In the hut, a man holds a book near the window. This is the legendary Chinese scholar Shoko. He read by moonlight. The moon and clouds are in the upper left of the tsuba. On the reverse is a waterfall under a pine tree.
Japanese
2 1/2 in. (6.3 cm)
medium: shibuichi, gold
culture: Japanese
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Japanese
H: 9 1/8 x W: 10 1/2 in. (23.2 x 26.6 cm)
medium: ink and colors on silk and paper
culture: Japanese
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest (?) [accessioned 1991].
Each of the four gospels in this book opens on a page with brilliantly illuminated borders depicting the author of the text as well as birds—principally peacocks, symbols of the immortality of the soul—and fountains, representing the fountain of life and the salvation of the soul. This volume consists of 428 leaves with texts in Greek. Its level of sophistication suggests that it was probably written and decorated in a monastery in Constantinople.
Byzantium, Constantinople
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding
Sheet: 28 x 23 cm (11 x 9 1/16 in.)
Did you know...
Gospel books were carried in procession through Byzantine churches.
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Muslim weavers in Spain manufactured colorful woolen carpets with patterns derived from native Iberian designs, luxury silks, and imported Turkish carpets, such as this rare example. It is the only known carpet with this pattern of octagons framing a radiating central star. It is related to so-called large-pattern Holbein carpets, named after the Flemish painter Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) who represented them in his paintings. This relatively well preserved 15th-century carpet is said to have come from a convent in Spain.
Spain, Alcaraz?, Mudejar, 15th century
wool, knotted pile: Spanish knot
Overall: 418.8 x 236.1 cm (164 7/8 x 92 15/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
The large panel shown here was probably the end panel of a stall that faced another across the choir of a Gothic church. The panel is carved with the figure of St. Francis of Assisi kneeling in prayer and receiving the stigmata. Two standing figures also appear on this panel: a nun at the left (perhaps St. Claire) and a female martyr at the right. Below is St. Michael and the dragon.
Spain, Catalonia, Monastery of Pedralbes, 14th century
walnut
Overall: 295.8 x 59.1 x 5.8 cm (116 7/16 x 23 1/4 x 2 5/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund