Cleveland Museum of Art
Prayer Nut with Scenes from the Life of St. James the Greater
Adam Dircksz
- Date
- c. 1500–1530
- Medium
- boxwood
- Culture
- Northern Netherlands (Holland)
- Department
- Medieval Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
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. 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?
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