Solomon Ordering the Tree Cut Down
ca. 1440
The Netherlands, Utrecht
MS M.917/945, pp. 100–101
Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows, 1963
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With this miniature, the story of the True Cross flashes forward. Solomon, in preparation for building the Temple of Jerusalem, orders the tree chopped down. Dressed in an ermine-lined cloak, the king uses his scepter to supervise the action. In the bottom border, a boy roasts chickens on an open-air spit. The significance of this vignette to the theme of the miniature has eluded explanation.