Zadar - Archaeological Museum

Zadar´s "Arheoloski Muzej", located next to the Roman Forum and St. Donatus holds an incredible collection of medieval artefacts.

Here are details of carved panels, that were once part of an altar screen in the Church of St. Demenica ("Sv. Nediljica") in Zadar. They are dated 1030/1040. Zadar had been part of the Byzantine Empire upto about 1000, when after raids of pirates, it sheltered under Venetian power. - Obviously the cultural influence from Byzanz was still very strong.

While on the left the shepherds watch the "First Bath" (under the Star of Bethlehem), Mary, seated on a folding chair, having Jesus on her knees, welcomes the Magi. The Magi resemble older carvings in Ravenna on the western side of the Adriatic Sea. Just like them, they wear phrygian caps. They are clearly "byzantine" in style.

Younger carvings mostly show the Magi wearing crowns. A political symbol, probably invented by a gifted spin doctor, bringing the Magi into an ancestral line with the medieval Kings.