Detail View: Walter B. Denny World Art & Architecture Images:
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ID_Number:
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WBD_09609
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Creator name:
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unknown
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Title:
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The Adoration of the Magi
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Date:
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ca. 1340–1343
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Date type:
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creation
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Repository name:
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Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Repository name variant:
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Met, the
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Repository location:
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New York, New York
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Repository_inventory_ number:
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1975.1.9
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Style_Period:
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Medieval (European)
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Style_Period name variant:
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Middle Ages
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Style_Period:
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14th century
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Style_Period name variant:
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fourteenth century
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Subject:
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Magi
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Subject:
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angels (spirits)
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Subject:
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Virgin Mary
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Subject:
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Christ Child
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Subject:
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Africans
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Subject:
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halos (glories)
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Subject:
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rocks (landforms)
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Subject:
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palaces
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Culture:
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Italian
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Category:
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Paintings
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Work_type:
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tempera paintings
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Work_type:
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altarpieces
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Material_Technique:
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tempera on wood, gold ground
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Measurement:
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66.4 x 46.7 cm
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Copy_Source:
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digital image
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Image_Source:
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Walter Denny
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Note:
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According to the MMA site, the three figures "wearing pastel robes and turbans, are identified as an early depiction of Africans at the scene of the Adoration. The trio may represent the Ethiopian ambassadors who journeyed to Rome and Avignon in 1306, and their mythical ruler Prester John, considered to be a descendent of the magi. According to pictorial tradition, their smaller scale indicates they occupy the earthly realm. Africans often appear in later Adoration images as one of the magi, symbolizing the spread of Christianity, or as enslaved servants, reflecting their cultural "otherness" and conditions of oppression in Europe."
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Rights Reproduction & Access:
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Duplication rights - Walter Denny
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Filename:
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WBD_09609.JPG
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view description:
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detail of three Ethiopian ambassadors
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