Advent Calendar 2021

Page from a 15th-century Book of Hours, likely made in Northeast France. Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, PA, 07.MS.639. To view a zoomable version on Google Arts & Culture, **click on the image**.

5. Adoration of the Wise Men

This scene of the Wise Men presenting their gifts to the Christ Child is from a page in a 15th-century Flemish medieval prayer book known as the Book of Hours. These personal prayer books contained devotions appropriate for the eight canonical hours of the day, as well as other prayers and texts. According to the Gospel of Matthew, “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (2:11).

Here the gifts of the Wise Men take the form of three golden chalices. Both the Christ Child, who sits on Mary’s lap, and Mary herself, have haloes, but the infant Christ’s halo incorporates the sign of the cross. The clothing of the Wise Men suggests that they have come from three different countries, while their hair and beards suggest three different ages: youth, adult, and old age. In the left-hand border of the page, two hounds are depicted chasing a white rabbit. Below the main scene is a peacock.

Visit us at Follow the Star: A 2021 Advent Calendar.