Triptych. Central panel: The Adoration of the Magi; left wing: The Nativity; right wing: The Circumcision

This triptych from the Anonymous Antwerp Mannerist group places the Adoration of the Magi at the centre, flanked by the Nativity and Circumcision — a programme covering Christ's infancy that was standard for portable domestic altarpieces in the early sixteenth century. Antwerp's booming export trade in devotional paintings sustained scores of workshop painters producing these triptychs for Catholic buyers across Europe, from Spain to Poland. The Circumcision on the right wing is notably rare as an independent scene, usually incorporated into Epiphany cycles rather than given its own panel.

The triptych format requires visual continuity across three panels, achieved here through a consistent horizon line and atmospheric landscape that bleeds between wings. Central panel figures are larger in scale with more elaborate costume detail. Landscape elements — distant towns, rocky outcroppings — are rendered with the cool blue-grey recession typical of Antwerp workshop production.