This ivory plaque depicts the Tree of Jesse, a popular representation in art to show the genealogy of Christ. The iconography conforms to a passage from the Book of Isaiah. It presents Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David and an ancestor of Christ, as the root of a great tree. He lies at the bottom and the tree grows from his body. On each branch, it shows kings and prophets holding scrolls that foretell the coming of Christ. At the tip of the tree, it depicts Virgin Mary carrying the Child Christ. The fineness of the carving dates it to the early Singhalese-Portuguese period of the late 16th century or early 17th century; significantly after 1600, the quality of ivory carving for export declines and becomes less detailed and more mechanical.
