Ivory Pyxis thumbnail 1
Ivory Pyxis thumbnail 2
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Ivory Pyxis

14th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Egypt (made)

Box and cover, pierced interlace pattern, ivory.

Object details

Categories
Containers
Africa
Object type
Ivory pyxis
Materials and techniques
Ivory, pierced
Brief description
Ivory box and cover, pierced interlace pattern, Egypt (mamluk), 14th century
Physical description
Box and cover, pierced interlace pattern, ivory.
Gallery label
(June 1997)
Box and Cover
Carved and pierced ivory with gilded copper mounts
Spanish?; mid 14th-century
Given by Mr Alfred Williams Hearn
A.68-1923

An inscription carved around the centre band had been partially erased and is now illegible. This box belongs to a group of boxes with similar pierced decoration. These are usually dated to the mid-fourteenth century, as one example (formerly in the Rothschild Collection) bears an inscription referring to the Mamluk Sultan Salih, who reigned in Egypt between 1351 and 1354. The lettering and other features of the decoration suggest that they were in fact made in Spain.
Collection
Middle East Section
Accession number
A.68-1923

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Record createdOctober 22, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O84886/ivory-pyxis-unknown/
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