The Nativity

This stucco relief depicts the Nativity. The Virgin is shown seated on the ground in front of a cave in which the swaddled baby Jesus lies under the heads of ox and ass. On the right St Joseph sits asleep while on the left a shepherd peers round the side of the cave. In the corners of the relief are the heads of the Evangelists with scrolls.

The relief, of which variants exist in other collections, is related stylistically to a group of marble reliefs carved by Urbano da Cortona for the chapel of the Madonna delle Graie in Siena Cathedral.