The popular name of this object is derived from the iconographically less significant feature of the horse held by a page. It was a New Year's present from the French queen Elizabeth of Bavaria to her husband Charles VI, who is shown kneeling on a raised platform reached by a twin staircase. The king adores the Christ Child in the lap of the Virgin, while opposite him a knight holds his helmet.
The figures are finished in the encrusted enamel technique, which was particularly favoured for such precious objects. However, a multi-figure composition on this scale is exceptional.
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