Fragment of a Pluteus (parapet between columns)


The entire fragment

Detail (upper left): The Visitation

Detail (upper right): The Nativity, with the midwife bathing the Christ Child

Detail (lower right): The Adoration of the Magi

11th century
Stone relief
From the Church of St. Lawrence, Zadar, Croatia.
In the Archeological From the Museum in Zadar

Left of the Visitation scene one can just make out a portion of an angel, probably in an Annunciation scene. The riders in the bottom right are on horses rather than camels, but they are three in number, the first one is clearly wearing a crown, and the context is the Nativity, so it seems best to identify them as the Magi. The scene above them has what seems to be Mary seated on a chair or throne. That would be an odd choice for a Nativity, and so is the prominence given to the bathing. But in a separate register above we see an ox and an ass, which are always portrayed in Nativities, with the Star of Bethlehem between them.

Read more about images of the Visitation
Read more about images of the Nativity
Read more about images of the Magi

Photographed at the museum by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.