Small Wonders

Marvels of human ingenuity, so small they can fit in the palm of your hand, miniature boxwood carvings from the early sixteenth century have been filling us with wonder for ages due to the enormous virtuosity with which they were made.

Presenting some 60 statuettes, miniature altars, prayer nuts, monstrances, skulls and other memento mori pendants, Small Wonders is the first publication to focus on these late-medieval, pocketsize carvings from the Low Countries. The stunningly fine-carved luxury ‘toys for the soul’ show the most ingenious religious scenes. They were intended for the personal meditative and devout use of medieval believers, but also for their amusement and amazement. An international team of experts examined the rare works of art and unravelled how and for whom they were made and how they were used. The ‘small wonders’ were photographed especially for this comprehensive miniature publication that therefore reveals every last detail.