Relief with Wise Men courtship's horses

The facade of the retrochoir (space behind the high altar) made by Master Mateo, in the fourth section of the nave, was presided over by a tympanum dedicated to the Epiphany (now lost). To the left was a relief featuring horses from the entourage of the Magi or Three Kings. When the choir (area for seating the choir and clergy) was destroyed, this was used as infill material for the Obradoiro Facade staircase until it was recovered in 1978.

This piece continues the sequence developed on the outer edge of the choir: it has a rectangular tower with blind arches, crowned by a pyramid canopy with tiles that resemble fish scales. The horse figures are set out sequentially, cut off at the shoulders so that only the front legs of the first are visible. The scene shows the moment when the entourage left Jerusalem after meeting with King Herod, before continuing on to Bethlehem to worship the Holy Child.

The careful and unique work on each of the figures is clear, as is the painstaking detail in the manes, heads, and reins. This would have been accentuated by a rich polychromy, of which some traces remain, and which would originally have been gilded and brightly colored.