Adoration of the Magi
c. 1425–c. 1475
Medium
Alabaster with polychromy and gilding
Dimensions
42.6 × 29.2 cm (16 3/4 × 11 1/2 in.)
Classification
relief
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
30427
Art Historical Context
This English alabaster relief created between roughly 142 and 1475, the biblical Adoration the Magi in a compact richly detailed composition. Carved from alabaster and enhanced withromy and gilding, the measures just over sixteen inches high, a scale typical of panels designed for private chapels or altarpieces. Such pieces were produced in large numbers in medieval England and often exported across Europe, as affordable yet luminous alternatives to more costly stone or metal sculpture. The medium itself reflects the artistic priorities of late Gothic England. Alabaster’s fine grain allowed c...