Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts

Book of Hours
France, ca. 1440
MS M.157 fol. 68r

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Magi: Adoration -- Virgin Mary, nimbed and veiled, sits on cushion. On her lap is nude Christ Child, wearing crossed nimbus, reaching left hand into vessel held by eldest Magus, kneeling on one knee, beside crown on ground. Behind him are two magi, wearing crowns, one holding vessel in left hand and the other holding vessel in right hand.
Figures in front of wattle fence and shed. Star of Bethlehem appears in sky, rays from which shine through roof of the shed.
Scene in landscape setting with buildings in distance.
Margins decorated with floreate border, including daisies and strawberries, inhabited by moths, dragonflies, birds and peacocks.