Prayer Nut with Scenes from the Life of St. James the Greater

c. 1500–1530

and Workshop

Culture

Northern Netherlands (Holland)

Medium

boxwood

Measurements

Overall: 5.8 x 4.8 cm (2 5/16 x 1 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1961.87

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Location

112 Northern Renaissance

Did You Know?

This miniature masterpiece was held and caressed within the palm of the holder as they prayed and meditated on their faith. What do you use to focus or engage in quiet concentration?

Description

Prayer nuts are capsules that can be opened in half and were mainly worn from the end of the 1400s until 1530, particularly in the Netherlands. These objects are generally made from boxwood and carved with extreme refinement and delicacy. They often echo Gothic architecture and include openwork tracery or elaborate decorative patterns. Prayer nuts came into fashion for private devotion as a pendant on the rosary or on a decorative chain. The emergence of prayer nuts went hand in hand with the practice of praying the rosary more frequently at the end of the Middle Ages.