Prayer Nut with Scenes from the Life of St. James the Greater
Adam Dircksz (Netherlandish, active c. 1500)
c. 1500–1530
Medium
boxwood
Dimensions
5.8 × 4.8 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1961.87
Tags
gender unknownmale
About this artwork
Prayer nuts are capsules that can be opened in half and were mainly worn from the end of the 1400s until 1530, particularly in the Netherlands. These objects are generally made from boxwood and carved with extreme refinement and delicacy. They often echo Gothic architecture and include openwork tracery or elaborate decorative patterns. Prayer nuts came into fashion for private devotion as a pendant on the rosary or on a decorative chain. The emergence of prayer nuts went hand in hand with the pr...