This panel was once part of an altarpiece depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ. The other panels would have included The Ascension of Christ, all mounted within a wooden framework attached to the altar. The reliefs were made by craftsmen working in Nottingham and were popular in both England and continental Europe, yet many of those in English churches were damaged or destroyed during the Protestant Reformation of the early 1500s. A rare survival in such an excellent state of preservation, The Adoration of the Magi provides valuable evidence of the design, carving, and painted decoration used in medieval English art. Here the Virgin Mary is holding the Christ Child as the three kings, or wise men, present gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. At the bottom, Joseph rests with his staff beside two animals associate with the manger and The Nativity. This relief complements the Institute's ivory diptych Scenes from the Life of Christ (c. 1375) and the Limoges plaque ofThe Anointing of the Body (c. 1250).