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Circular Box (Pyxis) with the Women at Jesus' Tomb

500s
Not on view
The Gospel of Luke (24:1-10) describes a group of women, among them Mary Magdalene, coming to the empty tomb of the risen Christ. Here three women stand in the orant, or prayer, pose. Two others, swinging censers, approach from either side of a domed building in which tied-back curtains reveal an altar, which may refer to Christ's tomb. Similar curtains separated the altar from the nave, or public area, in early churches in the eastern Mediterranean.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Circular Box (Pyxis) with the Women at Jesus' Tomb
  • Date: 500s
  • Geography: Made in Eastern Mediterranean
  • Culture: Byzantine
  • Medium: Elephant ivory with metalwork and paint
  • Dimensions: Overall (with lid): 4 1/4 x 5 x 4 3/4 in. (10.8 x 12.7 x 12.1 cm)
    Overall (Without lid): 4 1/4 x 5 x 4 3/8 in. (10.8 x 12.7 x 11.1 cm)
    Top ((Lid)): 1 x 5 x 4 3/4 in. (2.5 x 12.7 x 12.1 cm)
  • Classification: Ivories-Elephant
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.57a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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