Maiolica figure group of the Adoration of the Magi

An image of Maiolica figure group. The Adoration of the Magi. Giovanni di Nicola di Manzoni of Colle, probably (Tuscany, Colle Val d'Elsa). Formerly attributed doubtfully to Faenza. The Adoration of the Magi modelled in the round on an irregularly shaped base. In the middle is a wattled stall occupied by an ox and an ass. The infant Christ lies on a wavy-edged cloth in front of it, and the infant St John the Baptist kneels at His feet. Further to the left are the three Kings, one standing and two kneeling, accompanied by a dog, who is facing away from Christ. On the right, Joseph kneels behind the Virgin who sits with the infant Christ on her lap. There is a vessel by her feet and, to the right, a sheep. Behind the Virgin, a shepherd holding bagpipes is accompanied by a recumbent dog and two sheep, one resting its forelegs on the back of the other. Behind the three Kings is an attendant with two gaily harnessed horses and a dog. At the back, on the apex of the gable of the stall is a cherub holding a scroll inscribed `O O VOBI. GRADIO.M', and on the wall below is another cherub. On each side there is a kneeling shepherd and a sheep. Buff earthenware, tin-glazed on all the upper surfaces and on the edges of the base. Painted in dark blue, turquoise-green, yellow, orange, and manganese-purple. Height, whole, 25.5 cm, width, whole, 34.5 cm, circa 1509-1515. Renaissance.

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Maiolica figure group. The Adoration of the Magi. Giovanni di Nicola di Manzoni of Colle, probably (Tuscany, Colle Val d'Elsa). Formerly attributed doubtfully to Faenza. The Adoration of the Magi modelled in the round on an irregularly shaped base. In the middle is a wattled stall occupied by an ox and an ass. The infant Christ lies on a wavy-edged cloth in front of it, and the infant St John the Baptist kneels at His feet. Further to the left are the three Kings, one standing and two kneeling, accompanied by a dog, who is facing away from Christ. On the right, Joseph kneels behind the Virgin who sits with the infant Christ on her lap. There is a vessel by her feet and, to the right, a sheep. Behind the Virgin, a shepherd holding bagpipes is accompanied by a recumbent dog and two sheep, one resting its forelegs on the back of the other. Behind the three Kings is an attendant with two gaily harnessed horses and a dog. At the back, on the apex of the gable of the stall is a cherub holding a scroll inscribed `O O VOBI. GRADIO.M', and on the wall below is another cherub. On each side there is a kneeling shepherd and a sheep. Buff earthenware, tin-glazed on all the upper surfaces and on the edges of the base. Painted in dark blue, turquoise-green, yellow, orange, and manganese-purple. Height, whole, 25.5 cm, width, whole, 34.5 cm, circa 1509-1515. Renaissance.

Image data

Accession Number: C.2180-1928
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/22.0
Focal length: 120
Camera: Hasselblad H3DII-31
Photographer name: Michael Jones
Image height: 768 pixels
Image width: 1024 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.4 (Windows)
Filesize: 618.28kB
Exposure time: 1/125
ISO Speed: 200
Fnumber: 22/1

Key words

16th Century adoration adoration of the child adoration of the kings adoration of the Magi animal ass Baby Jesus biblical blue Christ Christ child Christianity Christmas dogs donkeys earthenware ewe fence figure figure group Fitz_AA Giovanni di Nicola di Manzoni of Colle Giovanni di Nicola Manzoni dal Colle glazed High Renaissance Holy Family infant Christ Italian Jesus John the Baptist Joseph Madonna Magi maiolica Mary and Joseph model modelled mother and child nativity New Testament Other Keywords ox oxen painted polychrome pottery religion religious Renaissance sheep St John the Baptist stable three wise men tin-glazed Virgin and Child Virgin Mary wattle fence wise men Xmas

Citation for print

This page can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:


            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024)
            "Maiolica figure group of the Adoration of the Magi"
            Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-1447090212 Accessed: 2024-11-02 18:16:08

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this page on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:


            {{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-1447090212
            |title=Maiolica figure group of the Adoration of the Magi
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-02 18:16:08|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/images/media-200385

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa35/C_2180_1928_1_201611_mfj22_dc2.jpg"
        alt="The Annunciation to the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Maiolica figure group of the Adoration of the Magi</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>