Half of a Prayer Bead with Jesus Carrying the Cross
The rosary, a fifteen-part prayer developed primarily by the Dominican order, grew in popularity during the fifteenth century. Chains of beads called chaplets or rosaries helped devotees to keep track of the sequence during prayer. Wealthy patrons commissioned beads of the finest craftsmanship and materials, but even at the height of production, beads that open like miniature tabernacles are thought to have been quite rare. The Biblical inscriptions include an exhortation to open the bead and meditate on the scene within: "Attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow" (Lamentations 1:12).
Artwork Details
- Title: Half of a Prayer Bead with Jesus Carrying the Cross
- Date: early 16th century
- Culture: Netherlandish
- Medium: Boxwood
- Dimensions: 2 11/16 × 2 1/2 × 1 5/16 in. (6.8 × 6.4 × 3.4 cm)
With attached loop: 2 11/16 × 2 1/2 × 1 5/8 in. (6.8 × 6.4 × 4.2 cm) - Classification: Sculpture-Miniature-Wood
- Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
- Object Number: 17.190.473a
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters
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