Pyx

Pyx - Styles and Influences

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Pyx
Sicily; 12th/13th c.

The lid is a single piece of ivory and the same size as the outer diameter of the opening. The edges of lid and pyx are marked by very thin incisions. The lid can be opened and closed by two spear shaped hinges on the back and one on the front which is connected by a thin bronze plate with keyhole and key, engraved with arabesque patterning and a bird. The closing was secured by a complex system which was necessary for a box of this kind in which precious objects would be kept. Most of such pixes were made in Norman Sicily.