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Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion

ca. 1500–before 1526

Not on view

The interior of this fruitwood carving resembles those of miniature boxwood prayer beads, but the exterior presents the gentle face of the Virgin or a female saint. This example traces to a sixteenth-century German owner. It was perhaps carved in German lands by an artist eager to have a share of the flourishing boxwood market established in the Netherlands.

Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion, Fruitwood, German (?) — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion, Fruitwood, German (?)

Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion, Fruitwood, German (?)

Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion, Fruitwood, German (?)

Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion, Fruitwood, German (?)

Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion, Fruitwood, German (?)

Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion, Fruitwood, German (?)

Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion, Fruitwood, German (?)

Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion, Fruitwood, German (?)

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Prayer Bead in the Form of the Virgin's Head with Jesus Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion

Date: ca. 1500–before 1526

Culture: German (?)

Medium: Fruitwood

Dimensions: Open: 2 5/8 × 2 1/16 × 1 3/4 in. (6.7 × 5.2 × 4.4 cm)

Classification: Sculpture-Miniature-Wood

Credit Line: Museum Schnütgen, Cologne (A 997)

The Met

Medieval Art and The Cloisters at The Met

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.