The painting must date from the early 1470s. The Virgin and Child, the King kissing Christ's foot and the larger figures behind the king are by Filippino Lippi. The shepherds on the right and the jostling followers of the kings on the left, as well as the dwarf and some of the figures in the central section, including the one gazing upwards (presumably at the star), are by Botticelli, and are close to the figures in his round painting of the same subject.

Lippi was recorded as in Botticelli's studio in this period but it is remarkable to find the master completing a composition begun by his younger pupil - the reverse of what we would expect.