Nativity in Ivory

This carved ivory polyptych was made in the early 1300s in France. It shows scenes from the Life of Christ, with the Virgin and Child in the centre. The Annunciation by the Angel Gabriel and the Adoration of the Magi are on the left, and on the right is the Nativity. A polyptych is a work of art made up of multiple pieces – the word comes from the Greek ‘poly’ (many) and ‘ptychē’ (fold). #Nativity #ChristmasEve #Christmas #polyptych #France #14thcentury

A post shared by British Museum (@britishmuseum) on Dec 24, 2017 at 2:23am PST