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Pyx

ca. 1250–1300
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 304
The coats of arms on this pyx are fictive—they are used simply as a decorative element. They may seem a curious choice for an object meant to hold the bread consecrated as Christ’s body during the mass, but the lines between the religious and worldly realms of the Middle Ages were often blurred.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pyx
  • Date: ca. 1250–1300
  • Geography: Made in Limoges, France
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Copper: engraved and gilt, champlevé enamel: medium blue, red, and white
  • Dimensions: Overall: 4 x 3 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. (10.1 x 8.3 x 6.8 cm)
  • Classification: Enamels-Champlevé
  • Credit Line: The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
  • Object Number: 32.100.284
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

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Chasse of Champagnat, Copper: engraved and gilt; champlevé enamel: blue-black, medium blue, turquoise, green, red, and white, French
Chasse of Champagnat
French
ca. 1150
Tabernacle of Cherves, Copper (plaques): engraved, scraped, stippled, and gilt; (appliqués): repoussé, chased, engraved, scraped, and gilt; champlevé enamel: medium blue, turquoise, medium green, yellow, red, and white, modern wood mount, French
Tabernacle of Cherves
French
ca. 1220–1230
Reliquary Bust of Saint Yrieix, Silver and gilded silver with rock crystal, gems, and glass, French
Reliquary Bust of Saint Yrieix
French
ca. 1220–40, with later grill
Chasse with the Crucifixion and Christ in Majesty, Copper: engraved, chiseled, stippled, and gilt; champlevé enamel: dark, medium, and light blue; turquoise, dark and light green, yellow, red, and white; wood core, painted red on exterior, French
Chasse with the Crucifixion and Christ in Majesty
French
ca. 1180–90
Pyx, Copper: engraved, gilt; champlevé enamel, French
Pyx
French
ca. 1250

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