Pyx thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 10

Pyx

c.1320-40 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Latin word pyxis means ‘small box’. Boxes like this have been used since the Middle Ages to hold the holy Eucharist (the bread blessed by the priest during Mass). A large proportion of surviving medieval pyxes are decorated in enamel. The enamel work upon this pyx is executed in the champlevé technique of the famous Limoges enamellers, who were influential in the Middle Ages. However the style of the figures and the architecture have closer similarities with Parisian translucent enamels of the 14th century. It has been suggested that this object could be an example of Limoges-type enamel made in Paris.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Pyx
  • Lid
Materials and techniques
Copper alloy, engraved; gold; enamel
Brief description
Champlevé enamel on copper gilt
Physical description
Cylindrical pyx. Copper gilt with champlevé enamel. On the outside, the 12 Apostles beneath canopies upon alternate blue and red grounds, on the inside a man's head and grotesque monsters.
Dimensions
  • Including lid height: 10.3cm
  • Diameter: 9.9cm
  • Weight: 0.6kg
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Gallery label
PYX Outside, the twelve apostles; inside, a man's head and grotesque monsters Copper gilt, decorated with champlevé enamel Flemish or Northern French; about 1300 From the Soltykoff and Morland collection
Object history
From the Soltifkoff and Morland collections.

Bought for 26 pounds and 5 shillings in 1866

Historical significance: The origins of this pyx has puzzled scholars. The work is executed in the champlevé technique of the famous Limoges enamellers, who were influential in the Middle Ages. However the style of the figures and the architecture have closer similarities with Parisian translucent enamels of the 14th century. Some scholars have suggested that this object could be an example of Limoges-style enamel made in Paris.

Comparisons in style have been made between this pyx and the goldsmith work of the reliquary of Jeanne D'Evreux, 1339, believed to be made in Paris.

The decoration upon the lid may be a coat of arms.

Several pyxes of this style, shape and colouring survive. Along with another example in the V&A, a very similar pyx is held in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (museum no. OA 6936)
Historical context
The Latin word pyxis means ‘small box’. Objects like this example have been used since the Middle Ages to hold the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the bread transformed into the Body of Christ during the Christian Mass. Wafers of bread were handed out to the congregation and left over pieces were stored in pyxes- decorative boxes suitably precious to hold such important items. Pyxes could also be used by priests to transport the blessed bread to the sick. A large proportion of surviving medieval pyxes are decorated in enamel. This may have been partly due to the relatively inexpensive nature of the raw materials compared to gold and silver, however the popularity of enamel was also due to its ability to colour metal which enabled a wide variety of iconographic designs.
Production
possibly Paris
Subject depicted
Summary
The Latin word pyxis means ‘small box’. Boxes like this have been used since the Middle Ages to hold the holy Eucharist (the bread blessed by the priest during Mass). A large proportion of surviving medieval pyxes are decorated in enamel. The enamel work upon this pyx is executed in the champlevé technique of the famous Limoges enamellers, who were influential in the Middle Ages. However the style of the figures and the architecture have closer similarities with Parisian translucent enamels of the 14th century. It has been suggested that this object could be an example of Limoges-type enamel made in Paris.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • M-M. Gauthier, Emaux du Moyen Age Occidental, Office du Livre, Fribourg, 1972, cat. No. 144
  • L'art au temps du rois maudits, Philippe le Bel et son Fils 1285-1328, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 1998
  • Campbell, Marian, An Introduction to Medieval Enamels, London: HMSO, 1983, p. 37, fig. 28a
  • Molinier, Émile. L'orfèvrerie religieuse et civile du Ve à la fin du XVe siècle. Paris: Levy, 1902.
  • Labarte, Jules. Histoire des arts industriels au moyen-âge et à l'époque de la renaissance. Album.. 2 vols. Paris: 1864.
  • Falke, Otto von and Heinrich Frauberger. Deutsche Schmelzarbeiten des Mittelalters, und andere Kunstwerke der Kunst-Historischen Ausstellung zu Düsseldorf. Frankfurt am Main: J. Baer, 1904.
  • Les Arts : revue mensuelle des musées, collections, expositions, 1903
  • Objets d'art et de haute curiosité composant la célèbre collection du Prince Soltykoff. Catalogue of the auction held at the Hôtel Drouot, Paris, April 8 - May 1 1861.
  • Objects of art & vertu. Auction held at Christie's, London, May 8 - 12, 1866.
  • Robinson, J.C. (ed.). Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art of the Mediaeval, Renaissance, and more recent periods: on loan at the South Kensington Museum, June 1862. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M. Stationery Office, rev. ed. January 1863. no. 1106
Collection
Accession number
182:1, 2-1866

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Record createdDecember 18, 2007
Record URL
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