Prayer bead with the Adoration of the Magi and the Crucifixion

Apart from use in private veneration, they could be worn as necklaces or hung from belts as fashionable accessories.

[3] These three panels show the journey to Nazareth and the nativity on the left wing, with the Adoration of the Magi, complete with horses and camels, and the Presentation and the Offering of Doves (Leviticus 14:22) on the right.

The use of boxwood, with its regular dense grain, allowed craftsmen to create highly detailed miniature carvings, usually with the aid of a steady hand and a magnifying glass.

[2] The lower half is dominated by the Crucifixion of Jesus, while also showing the Agony in the Garden and Saint Peter severing the ear of Malchus with his sword.

Inscriptions on the exterior are taken from the Book of Lamentations 3:41 and 1:12 and read Levemus corda nostra cum manibus ad dnm in ce and Attendite (et) videte si est dolor sicut dolor meu.