The Adoration of the Magi
Dr. Friedrich Lippmann, Berlin (d. 1903); Dowdeswell & Dowdeswell, London; purchased by J.P. Morgan, Jr. in 1931.
The three Wise Kings offering their gifts to the Virgin and Child. St. Joseph is kneeling in front of the Virgin. In the upper right corner is the Annunciation to the Shepherds.
Crafted at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who reigned in Prague from 1347 until 1378, these exquisite panels likely formed a diptych or hinged pair. They may have been commissioned by the emperor himself. In the scene of the three kings adoring the Christ child, the second magus has the features of Charles, and his red cloak bears the imperial eagle. In the panel depicting the virgin's dormition, or falling asleep, a euphemism for the virgin's death before her assumption into heaven. St. Peter wears the three-tiered papal tiara. These details allude to the delicate balance between sacred and terrestrial power. These panels are among the few works in this room that were purchased by Pierpont Morgan's son, Jack Morgan. He acquired them in 1931 after spending decades nearly doubling the size of his father's collection of medieval manuscripts.