'The Adoration of the Magi' Panel by Augustin Henckel, 1500-20
Painted and gilded limewood panel depicting the Adoration of the Magi, by Augustin Henckel, Schaffhausen, Switzerland, 1500-1520. Museum no. 2418-1856
This carved, painted and gilded limewood panel shows the scene at Bethlehem when the three gift-bearing kings (magi) arrived to see the infant Jesus Christ. It was originally part of a triptych, with wings on either side of the central panel. It was probably displayed in one of the monasteries in the Swiss canton of Thurgau. They were dissolved in 1848 when Switzerland was reorganising itself under a new federal-style government.
Clues to its origins are provided by several altarpieces and fragments associated with the Swiss workshop of Augustin Henckel. They are sufficiently close in style to this panel to suggest that it originated in Henckel's shop in Schaffhausen.
You can listen to a description of the panel using the audio bar below. If you then click on the main image you can view a large version of the panel while listening to the description.
The gilded altarpiece was made in Germany in about 1500– 1520. It is slightly more than a metre, or three feet, in width and height and depicts three kings offering gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Christ. The panel once had two side wings attached, but they're now lost. Above the main scene is a delicately carved curved band of ornate foliage.
In the centre sits the Virgin Mary, holding the naked Christ Child in her lap. Her long hair curls onto her shoulders and she wears a white veil on her head. The Virgin's expression is serene. The skin of her face is painted a pale pink and her cheeks are rosy. The infant is similarly delicately painted. The Virgin and Child are sitting in the shelter of a dilapidated stable. Parts of the straw roof are missing and an archway behind them is broken. This broken building symbolises the old order that Christ will supplant. The Virgin and Child are flanked by the three kings and Saint Joseph. The eldest king, Caspar, kneels to the left of the Virgin. His head is bowed and his hands are pressed together in prayer as the Child blesses him. Caspar is balding and his beard hangs down to his chest. He wears a gilded robe with the side pinned up by a jewelled clasp, displaying one heavy boot. Originally his boots would have been silver but they've become black through oxidisation. Saint Joseph stands to the left of Caspar holding a casket in his right hand. He's also bearded and balding, although a small forelock remains above his brows.
On the right-hand side, Balthasar, the middle-aged king, kneels to present his offering. He holds a decorative cup in his left hand. He has a full head of wavy hair reaching to his shoulders and his beard is thick and black. His gilded robe has double sleeves with one hanging down by his side, a sign of high status. Balthasar also has a satchel over his shoulder decorated with two scallop shells, symbols of pilgrimage.
To his right stands the third king, identified as Melchior by the letters MELCH inscribed into his left sleeve. Melchior is black with short curling black hair and a youthful face. He wears a gold earring and a gold chain around his neck. He's dressed in a gilded knee-length gown. A sword hangs from his belt.
The story of the kings is recorded briefly in the gospel of St Matthew. By 1300 the kings usually represented the Three Ages of Man - Youth, Middle Age and Old Age - as well as the known world of the time, Europe, Africa and Asia. These depictions were a sign to worshippers that all of humanity would recognise Christ's authority.
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The Adoration of the Magi
You can learn more about the story of the Adoration of the Magi, as recorded in the Gospel of St Matthew, in this audio.
Female narrator: The scene depicted on the altarpiece in front of this audio point shows the Adoration of the Kings, in which three kings bring gifts for the newly born Jesus. Although the story of the kings is recorded briefly in the Gospel of Matthew, one of four accounts of the life of Jesus, many of the details in the panel were based on tradition, rather than the text itself. This is the story as told in the Gospel of Matthew.
Male voice: 'Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, in Bethlehem of Judaea. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child, and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed, and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: They presented unto him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.'
Female narrator: Herod, who wanted to kill Christ, his rival, ordered the slaughter of every infant in Bethlehem under the age of two. But an angel warned Jesus' family so that they could escape to Egypt.
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