Pax
ca. 1460-1490 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is an ivory pax made in about 1460-1490, probably Flemish, probably made in Bruges. The pax is carved in low relief and represents St. Michael overcoming Satan. This is one of only two known paxes with St Michael and the Devil.
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.
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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved elephant ivory |
| Brief description | Pax, ivory, representing St. Michael overcoming Satan, probably Flemish (porbably Bruges), ca. 1460-1490 |
| Physical description | Ivory pax of curved form, carved in low relief with St. Michael overcoming Satan. The winged and haloed Archangel Michael is shown trampling on the Devil, his sword held above his head as he prepares to strike the struggling demon. He is clad in armour of the second half of the fifteenth century, with a long cloak held at his chest with a foliate morse, and thrusts his shield at his foe. The Devil, shown prostrate on a grassy ground and with a monstrous horned head and long ears, sharp claws and a naked hairy body with long tail, attempts to defend himself by grasping the saint's shield with his upraised right hand. Spiral columns flank the scene, and openwork tracery, now mostly broken away, decorated the top of the relief. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | In the collection of Prince Petr Soltykoff, Paris, until 1861; bought by John Webb, London, at the Soltykoff sale (Soltykoff 1861, lot 131); purchased from Webb in 1867 for £10. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This is an ivory pax made in about 1460-1490, probably Flemish, probably made in Bruges. The pax is carved in low relief and represents St. Michael overcoming Satan. This is one of only two known paxes with St Michael and the Devil. 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. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 246-1867 |
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| Record created | August 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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