Adoration of the Magi

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A Christian gospel recounts that three magi (also called wise men or kings) travelled from distant lands to worship the newborn Jesus Christ. In this relief, the three kings remove their headdresses in succession and progress from standing to kneeling, venerating the holy infant. Framed like a painting, the relief challenges the pictorial limits of sculpture. The closest figures project with sharp focus, and those furthest away are shallow and blurred. In the distant mountain valley, a shepherd and his dog save their flock from a stalking wolf. These figures likely reference Christ the Savior, who compared himself to the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art