Nativity; Adoration of the Magi

Object Name
Artist/Maker
Object Type
Date
c. 1510-1520
Medium
boxwood in gilded silver case
Credit Line
Rijksmuseum. Purchased with the support of the Ebus Fonds/Rijksmuseum Fonds
Object Number
BK-2010-16-1
Location
Not currently on display
Institution/Owner

Dimensions

Overall Closed: 50.3mm × 48.5mm (5 × 4.8 cm)
Bottom half diameter 37.41 x top half diameter 37.54

Description

Upper scene: Nativity with Moses in the Burning Bush, Augustus and the Tiburtine sibyl, Annunciation to the Shepherds in the background; Lower scene: Adoration of the Magi

Signature, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription
engraved inscriptions in Dutch in Gothic miniscule on banderoles around the figures on the silver casing:

SOKET * VAER*/GHI * VILT * HIER* VINDET/* IN 8 D ARDE/* IN * VUER*/* IN * VATER/INDEN* LUCHT/

[source: Scholten 2011, p. 336]

Published References

Frits Scholten, A Prayer Nut in a Silver Housing by `Adam Dirckz’ (Amsterdam: The Rijksmuseum Bulletin, vol. 4, 2011, pp 322-347)

Provenance

Provenance
Purchased from Dutch private collection in 2010
Previous Owner(s)
Private Collection

Subjects

The online catalogue raisonné and digital photography made possible through the generous support of Thomson Works of Art