Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh

$820 NZ

Medium: Acrylics, gold leaf, copper & silver leaf, varnish on canvas

Size: 1380mm W x 300mm H

As we approach Easter and our thoughts turn to the death of Jesus, I found myself thinking about his birth and the extraordinary story of his short life - it is believed he died at around 33 years old. I pictured the stable where his life journey began. I pictured the ‘three wise men’ bringing gifts of what were, at the time extremely valuable items, and I thought about the message behind the gifts. Traditionally these items were standard gifts in the ancient world, given to honour a king. As a spiritual prophesy however, gold can be seen as representing his kingship, frankincense as a symbol of his priestly role and myrrh a symbol of his eventual death (myrrh was also used in embalming).

And I wondered, what sort of gifts would we give to a baby today, if we knew that baby would be the foundation of a faith that would attract more than 2.5 billion followers in 2000 years time?

View at DeLuca Cafe, Rust Avenue, Whangarei from 25 March 2025

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