This ivory pax, made in France (probably Paris), in the second quarter of the fourteenth-century, is carved with a representation of Christ on the cross flanked by the Virgin Mary, St John, St. Denis and St James the Greater. Above the figures there is an ogee arch with two shells in the spandrils. In Catholic culture a pax is a sacred tablet to be kissed by communicants.

A pax is a tablet or board, sometimes of silver, usually decorated with a Christian religious representation. A pax was used at the end of mass as part of the ‘Kiss of Peace’ ritual after the Angus Dei. First the priest would kiss the tablet, then the members of the congregation. England was precocious in introducing the pax, but references abound elsewhere from the beginning of the fourteenth century onwards. Paxes could be made from many materials, including wood, copper, silver and gold, as well as ivory.
The earliest, fourteenth-century, examples are invariably decorated with the Crucifixion, but the imagery rapidly diversified to take in other scenes connected with the Christ’s Passion and Sacrifice. By the fifteenth century the choice had expanded, with many scenes of the Virgin and Child.
This is a personalised pax, not only for the letters N and B (almost certainly the letters of the donor), but also for the inclusion of the coquilles Saint-Jacques (shell motives). These shells and the presence of St James himself, unequivocally indicate a close connection with the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The great pilgrimage hostel and church in Paris for those on their way to Santiago de Compostela was Saint-Jacques-aux-Pèlerins, founded in 1319 and situated on the rue Saint-Denis. This was the seat of a confraternity established to bring together those members of the wealthy élite of Paris who had completed the pilgrimage and to offer hospitality to pilgrims about to embark on the journey.