Untitled (Magi Bearing Gifts)

Clementine Hunter, Untitled (Magi Bearing Gifts), ca. 1970-1980, paint on an albany slip whiskey jug, 9 ¹⁄₄ × 7 ⁵⁄₈ in. (23.5 × 19.4 cm), diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.36

Artwork Details

Title: Untitled (Magi Bearing Gifts)
Artist: Clementine Hunter
Date: ca. 1970-1980
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 9 ¹⁄₄ × 7 ⁵⁄₈ in. (23.5 × 19.4 cm), diam.
Credit Line: The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson
Mediums Description: paint on an albany slip whiskey jug
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Object — other — container
Religion — New Testament — Magi
Object Number: 2016.38.36
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2016.38.36

Artwork Description

In this painted jug, Hunter portrays the Three Wise Men bearing gifts to the newborn Jesus, as well as their accompanying angel, as people of color. By depicting the figures in the biblical tale with dark skin, Hunter proposes an alternative worldview—one that places Black Christianity and history at the center of storied narratives and important events.
(We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, 2022)