-=< O >=-
Around 1500, artists
in the Netherlands carved
tiny prayer beads out
of boxwood
…
Invest 1:26 minutes
of your life to see
one up close
:
-=< O >=-
Thanks to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
for the video, and for sponsoring
the ‘Small Wonders‘ exhibition
of boxwood prayer beads
.
Here’s a link to
The Met
:
-=< O >=-
These were
sometimes called
‘prayer apples’ because
they would fit in the
palm of your hand
.
Look how much
detail is contained in
such a small space
!!!
-=< O >=-
Boxwood
is a very hard
dense, fine-grained
wood that is ideal for
carving detailed
miniatures
.
Let’s
look at one
prayer bead,
inside and
out
:
-=< O >=-
Opening
the bead reveals
a scene of the Crucifixion in
the lower half, and two hinged
wooden wings covering
the upper half
:
-=< O >=-
Zooming in
to look at the wings,
we see Adam and Eve in
the Garden of Eden, with
the Serpent wound
around the
tree
:
-=< O >=-
Opening
the wings reveals
a detailed carving of
The Adoration of
the Magi
:
-=< O >=-
Here’s
a closer look
:
-=< O >=-
…
and of the
Crucifixion scene
below
:
-=< O >=-
Pairing these two scenes
together was a popular theme
in the early 16th century
.
This Adoration of
the Magi was carved
by a different
artist
:
-=< O >=-
Here’s a
corresponding
Crucifixion scene
:
-=< O >=-
…
a few more
biblical scenes
One more version of the
Adoration of the Magi
before we move on
:
-=< O >=-
I included that
image because I found
such a good copy of it online,
and to use this opportunity to
plead for better images
!!!
A team
of professionals
took great photographs
of many prayer beads, but
websites often show blurry
copies of them, making
any detailed study
more difficult
.
When viewing artwork,
speed and storage space
should not be the goal
!!!
Please use higher
quality images
.
-=< O >=-
This scene features
Mary Magdalene
:
-=< O >=-
In this scene,
Jesus is appearing before
Pontius Pilate, after his arrest
in the Garden of Gethsemane
:
-=< O >=-
After the crowd demands
his Crucifixion, Jesus carries
the Cross through the city
gate to Golgotha
:
-=< O >=-
About 150 boxwood
beads are known to exist
.
There also are a few rosaries,
statuettes, Gothic lettering
and miniature altarpieces
carved in a similar style
from the same time
period (c1500)
.
-=< O >=-
Art
Gallery
of Ontario,
The Met Cloisters
and the Rijksmuseum
collaborated on an exhibit
of boxwood miniatures,
and published a
companion
book
.
Small Wonders: Late
Gothic Boxwood Micro-
Carvings from the
Low Countries
Here’s an online
copy in PDF
format
:
-=< O >=-
To learn
more, here’s a
short video from the
Art Gallery of Ontario,
about the work they
did preparing for
the 2016-2017
exhibit
:
-=< O >=-
-=< O >=-
A high resolution
CT-scan was performed
on the Last Judgement
prayer bead to learn
more about it’s
construction
:
-=< O >=-
Here’s an amazing tour
of the multiple layers in
the Last Judgement
prayer bead
:
-=< O >=-
ONE
MORE
?
This isn’t a
Boxwood Bead,
but it is presented
as an interesting
variation
:
-=< O >=-
Mary’s
head opens
to reveal a scene of
Jesus carrying the cross
in the upper half, and
a crucifixion scene
in the lower
:
-=< O >=-
The
icon for
this article is the
bead containing the scenes
‘Expulsion of the Moneychangers’
and ‘Entering Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday’
:
-=< O >=-