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Prayer Bead with the Last Judgment and the Coronation of the Virgin

Netherlandish

Not on view

Chaos reigns in the upper half of this bead, as angels at the sides sound the trumpet of the Last Judgment. Demons of different shapes and sizes delight in hauling away sinners. To create this scene, the artist carved and assembled multiple elements. The torments of hell are carved on a piece inserted into the disk from the bottom, and a tiny figure is set in the mouth of hell. Angels are slotted in at the sides, and the arc of heaven is also a separate element.

In the lower half, choirs of angels and saints watch as the Virgin Mary is crowned Queen of Heaven. The surrounding inscription, words sung by monastic choirs in the Middle Ages, adds to the celebratory atmosphere: "In the city of the Lord, there sound continually the organs of the saints; there is cinnamon and balsam, a most sweet odor; celebrate them."

Prayer Bead with the Last Judgment and the Coronation of the Virgin, Boxwood, with traces of later gilding, Netherlandish

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