Scene of preaching

The subject of this relief is puzzling. When it became part of the V&A collection, experts suggested that the scene was a rare version of an episode from the Bible. The New Testament describes how the twelve-year-old Christ was discovered at the Temple of Jerusalem by his family. In the later Middle Ages this incident was usually shown with the young Christ surrounded by the elders in the Temple. If this interpretation is correct, the adult figures on the left would be the Virgin and Joseph. The Virgin, seated on a tree-trunk, leans anxiously forward to speak to Christ. The High Priest , now headless, stands in the pulpit behind him. To the right two more female figures look on. The one at the front is sitting on a folded chair.