  About the Artwork
  
  
  A group of remarkably intricate small sculptures were made from the end of the fifteenth through the early sixteenth century in the Duchy of Brabant. Carved in dense, fine-grained boxwood, most were associated with personal religious devotions, such as rosaries, prayer beads, and miniature altarpieces like this triptych, carved with microscopic precision in the style of late Gothic sculpture. These flawless, detailed carvings were greatly prized by the aristocracy of the time and they are still a source of delight.
  
  
  Title
  Miniature Altarpiece with the Nativity and the Annunciation to the Shepherds
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1520
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Netherlandish
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Boxwood
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall (Open): 9 × 5 3/8 × 1 1/4 inches (22.9 × 13.7 × 3.2 cm)
  Overall (Closed): 9 × 3 3/8 × 1 1/4 inches (22.9 × 8.6 × 3.2 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Sculpture
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, Benson Ford Fund, and Henry Ford II Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  79.177
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
