Collection record · Everyday wonders
The "Apostles" Pyx (Box)
The collection record classifies this work as ivory. It is dated c. 980–1010. Recorded culture or place: Byzantium, Constantinople, middle Byzantine period, 10th-11th century.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- The "Apostles" Pyx (Box)
- Date
- c. 980–1010
- Culture / origin
- Byzantium, Constantinople, middle Byzantine period, 10th-11th century
- Materials and technique
- ivory
- Dimensions
- Overall: 25.5 x 17.5 cm (10 1/16 x 6 7/8 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Triptych Group
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1973.4
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
This pyx shows Christ as Pantokrator (Ruler of the World), the Apostles, and the Virgin as a continuous frieze of figures seated in high-backed chairs with cushions. The tapered lip of the body of the pyx was intended to dovetail into the missing lid. Because of its style, the box is thought to be from a workshop of ivory carvers called "The Triptych Group" active in Constantinople between about 950 and 1010. This is the only known pyx to survive from the Middle Byzantine period (about ad 843-1204).
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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