Prayer Bead with the Queen of Sheba Visiting King Solomon and the Adoration of the Magi
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The stories paired here both concern rulers coming from exotic and faraway places to honor a greater king. To emphasize the similarity of the narratives, the carver has deliberately drawn visual parallels between them. Though the inscription ringing the outside of the carving mentions the train of camels that the Queen of Sheba brought, they are nowhere in sight when the bead is opened. Rather the action is indoors, with the queen and two other women offering gifts, just like the three Wise Men in the scene below. The small dog under the table in the lower bead is typical of the small details that the artist inserts to enrich the scene.
Artwork Details
- Title: Prayer Bead with the Queen of Sheba Visiting King Solomon and the Adoration of the Magi
- Date: early 16th century
- Culture: Netherlandish
- Medium: Boxwood
- Dimensions: Open: 4 13/16 × 2 1/2 × 1 1/16 in. (12.2 × 6.4 × 2.8 cm)
Closed: 2 3/16 × 2 1/2 in. (5.5 × 6.4 cm) - Classification: Sculpture-Miniature-Wood
- Credit Line: The Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (AGOID.29458)
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters