Matthew 2:9-11
After they had heard the king,they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming into the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh.
The Adoration of the Kings (1510 - 15) - Jean Gossart. National Gallery
In this painting, Gossaert shows the three men presenting their gifts. Their luxurious clothes contrast with the surrounding ruins. This was a common setting for paintings of this subject symbolising the collapse of the old pagan order and the beginning of Christianity. The wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, a fragrant resin used to embalm the dead and a symbol of Christ’s future sacrifice. Caspar kneels before the Virgin presenting gold coins in a chalice. Melchior stands behind him and Balthazar, the Moorish King, stands on the left. You can read more detail about the painting on the National Gallery website Jan Gossaert (Jean Gossart) | The Adoration of the Kings | NG2790 | National Gallery, London
This exquisite tapestry below, The Adoration of the Magi, was designed in 1888 by Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris and the lesser-known John Henry Dearle. This version was woven six years later for the Corporation of Manchester, and is one of ten known examples. The composition was taken from a watercolour by Burne-Jones from 1887, then photographically enlarged into cartoons, coloured and decorated with flowers by Morris and Dearle. It is wool and silk tapestry woven on cotton warp in 1894, 258 x 384 cm, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, England. Wikimedia Commons.
