This 50 inch Balthazar
is part of Fontanini’s Masterpiece Collection. Figurine made of a marble based resin. This piece is perfect for your church or institution nativity yard art. Balthazar bows toward Jesus wearing a sea foam green tunic with gold cuffs. He wears a cerulean colored cape with wool lining. He has a gold, red, and white scarf around his neck. Upon his head is a white mantle with a gold crown. In his right hand he holds a chalice filled with myrrh for baby Jesus.
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Balthazar:
Of the three kings traveling to Bethlehem in pursuit of a wondrous star nearly two thousand years ago, the one who had come the furthest was said to be the Nubian King, Balthazar. This “Emperor of Black Men,” who had journeyed north to meet his expected companions, is depicted in many Nativities dressed in fine robes… but writers are uncertain as to whether his first meeting with Melchior and Gaspar found him dressed quite so elegantly!
It is said that Balthazar’s journey had been so long and exhausting that his clothing was in tatters. And so we may conclude that he brought special clothing and changed before entering Bethlehem. Or perhaps his Magian brothers may have provided the attire.
Balthazar was indeed a prince of Africa and the King of Saba. Although usually pictured as mature, he does not have the wizened look of Melchior’s face… nor the exotic facial features of Gaspar. Rather, Balthazar was the Ethiopian Magus whose gift of myrrh was brought a great distance with tender care.
Of all the kings’ gifts, Balthazar’s myrrh was truly a gift of his homeland. Myrrh is an aromatic resin that comes from the bark of thorny, African trees. It was prized throughout the Holy Land 2,000 years ago, because it was said to deter vermin from invading the household when the plant was dried and pressed into incense. Symbolically, myrrh is said to represent suffering… and it was for that reason that Balthazar chose to bring to the scene of Christ’s birth a gift of such meaning.
While Melchior, the eldest statesman of the three Magi, was given the honor of being allowed to stand first before the crib of the newborn Jesus, it was Balthazar who was said to get the infant’s first attention. Despite the gold and the sweet-smelling frankincense and the jewels and the cloth brought by the two wealthy kings, ithas been written that the simple urn of myrrh carried by Balthazar awoke the baby Jesus. And he was said to smile sweetly upon the weary Nubian.
At the age of 112, on the day of the Feast of the Epiphany, Balthazar died after saying prayers at the temple. He followed Melchior in death by days and was buried next to the eldest king by their third companion, Gaspar. And at his burial, the youngest of the three Magi honored the Nubian by taking up some of the same resin as a sweet goodbye and showering the second wise man with the myrrh.