Reliquary Shrine with the Adoration of the Magi

Description The front of the shrine shows the Three Magi on horseback and, below, they present their gifts, seen here as elaborate containers that resemble small reliquaries, to Mary and the Christ Child. A standing saint is represented on each end, while on the back the opening to the shrine is formed by the lower panel, fitted with a lock. This lock and key system kept the relics safely preserved from both over-eager pilgrims and ambitious thieves.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
5/02/1984	Examination	examined for exhibition

Exhibitions

• The Year 1200. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 1970.
• The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland 1800-1934. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1984.
• Reliquaries and Ritual: Medieval Objects of Devotion. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1984-1985.
• Russian Enamels. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1996-1997.
• Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1998-2001.
• The Book of Kings: Art, War, and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Academy Art Museum, Easton; Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton; The Mitchell Gallery, Annapolis; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown. 2002.
• Treasures of Heaven. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The British Museum, London. 2010-2011.

Provenance Joanny Benôit Peytel (1844-1924), Paris, [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Brimo de Laroussilhe, Paris, [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Henri Daguerre, Paris, [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, August 23, 1927, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1927