Detail of a Figure of a King in the Cloisters, Sept. 2007

Figure of a King
Oak with paint and gilding
South Lowlands, Flanders, about 1300-1325

Accession # 52.82

The identity of this idealized young king is unknown because the attribute he once held in his hands has been lost. He may have represented the youngest of the Three Magi, who enjoyed particular veneration as early witnesses to Christ's divinity. Stylistic similarities with sculptures preserved at Leau and Ypres suggest that the figure was made in the South Lowlands.

Text from the Cloisters label.