It shows the common subject in the Nativity art of the visit by the Three Kings to the infant Jesus, here given a grand theatrical treatment by including their spectacular and exotic retinues.

The Adoration is ethereally and dramatically illuminated by the Star of Bethlehem, reminiscent of the style of Rembrandt (a comparison already made by Count Raczynski in 1847[2]), and also Tiepolo and probably Turner, in the opinion of José-Augusto França.

The scene is framed by the crowd, the Romantic vague suggestion of ruins and a misty pale sky, with a dramatic horizon painted as an open 'V' shape,[3] guiding the view towards the focal point of the composition: Jesus on Mary's arms.

He rejoined the Accademia di San Luca, and became, in 1829, a founding member of the Società degli Amatori e Cultori dei Belle Arti.

When the Società held its first exhibition in the rooms of the Campidoglio in 1830, Sequeira sends his Adoration of the Magi, along with the Descent from the Cross that preceded it by a year, to great critical acclaim.

A public fundraising campaign called "Vamos pôr o Sequeira no Lugar Certo" (Let's put the Sequeira in the right place), launched in October 2015, counted with the small contributions of thousands of private citizens, institutions, companies, schools, local governments, and even President Rebelo de Sousa;[8] the largest contribution, of 200 thousand euros, was made by the Aga Khan Foundation in the person of Prince Amyn Aga Khan.

The restoration work revealed new information about the painting, namely, that Sequeira had used his own fingerprints to give texture to the mantles of the Magi, and that the artist made very little alteration to the compositions seen in the underdrawing.