Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 21, 2019
Gothic boxwood miniatures are very small religious wood sculptures produced during the 15th and 16th centuries, mostly in today's Low Countries. They were formed from intricate layers of reliefs often rendered at nearly microscopic levels, with around 150 examples extant today. The majority are spherical beads known as prayer nuts, statuettes, skulls, or coffins; some 20 are in the form of polyptychs including triptych and diptych altarpieces, tabernacles, and monstrances. Typical imagery includes scenes from the Crucifixion of Jesus and extensive vistas of Heaven and Hell. Each miniature required exceptional craftsmanship and may have taken decades to complete. A number of the miniatures may have come from a workshop led by Adam Dircksz, who is thought to have produced dozens of them. Almost nothing is known about him or the artisans who produced them. Important collections are in the Art Gallery of Ontario, the British Museum, and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (Full article...)