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Prayer nut
with The Nativity and The Adoration of the Magi Boxwood, silver and gold (box: wood, leather and metal); by the workshop of Adam Dircksz, c. 1500–c. 1530 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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A silver sphere opens on a
hinge to show two boxwood reliefs of the Nativity and the Adoration
of the Magi set within its paired hemispheres and linked by clasps
and a small chain. Its Gothic engraving, filled with creatures and
figures read as the Four Elements (earth, air, water, and fire) and
signs of a distorted world of vice, is completed by a pale-gold wire
encircling the body and gold rosettes at top and base. Prayer nuts
were used for thoughtful daily devotion, giving their owners
something to open and contemplate whenever they wished to turn their
minds towards prayer. |
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