This exquisitely carved cylindrical box is believed to be one of the most accomplished works of a master from the palace of the Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al-Rahman III (r. 912–61), who ruled most of the Iberian peninsula. To judge from other examples, the missing domed lid of this box likely had an inscription giving the owner’s name and the date. Islamic pyxides, known as ushnan in Arabic, were exclusively secular and were used to store jewelry and cosmetics. The incorporation of birds, lions, and gazelles amid richly carved vine scrolls is typical of dense symmetrical Islamic design, which, in turn, influenced the decoration of European Romanesque ivories and manuscripts.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Pyxis
Date:ca. 950–75
Geography:Made in Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain
Culture:Spanish
Medium:Elephant ivory
Dimensions:Overall: 4 5/8 x 4 1/8 in. (11.7 x 10.5 cm)
Classification:Ivories-Elephant
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1970
Accession Number:1970.324.5
Count J. Revertera-Salandra (sold Sotheby's, London, May 16, 1958, lot 27) ; Ernst and Marthe Kofler-Truniger, Lucerne (sold 1970)
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Sammlung E. und M. Kofler-Truniger, Luzern, Zürich," June 7–August 2, 1964.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Patterns of Collecting: Selected Acquisitions, 1965–1975," December 6, 1975–March 23, 1976.
Granada. Alhambra. "Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain," March 18–June 7, 1992.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain," July 1–September 27, 1992.
Jewish Museum, New York. "Convivencia: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Medieval Spain," September 15–December 15, 1992.
Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University. "Convivencia: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Medieval Spain," January–March 1993.
Institut du Monde Arabe. "Les Andalousies de Damas à Cordoue*," November 28, 2000–April 15, 2001.
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. "Earth, Sea, and Sky: Nature in Western Art—Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 6, 2012–January 4, 2013.
Beijing. National Museum of China. "Earth, Sea, and Sky: Nature in Western Art—Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 8–May 9, 2013.
New York. The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Spain, 1000–1200: Art at the Frontiers of Faith," August 30, 2021–January 30, 2022.
Catalogue of important works of art: Oriental and European rugs and carpets, tapestries, French clocks and ormolu and fine French furniture. London: Sotheby & Co., May 16, 1958. no. 27, pp. 10–11.
Philippowich, Eugen von. Elfenbein: ein Handbuch für Sammler und Liebhaber. Braunschweig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1961. pp. 125–26, fig. 94.
Demoriane, Hélène. "De la Vierge médiévale à la divinité Egyptienne: La Collection Kofler dévoile ses trésors." Connaissance des Arts 148 (June 1964). ill. p. 98.
Kauffmann, C. M. "The Kofler Collection: An important exhibition in Zürich." The Connoisseur 156, no. 627 (May 1964). p. 19, fig. 5.
Sammlung E. und M. Kofler-Truniger, Luzern: Ausstellung. Zurich: Kunsthaus Zürich, 1964. no. 691, p. 73, pl. 112.
Schnitzler, Hermann, Peter Bloch, and W. F. Volbach. Sammlung E. und M. Kofler-Truniger, Luzern: Skulpturen – Elfenbein, Perlmutter, Stein, Holz; europäisches Mittelalter. Vol. 1. Lucerne: Verlag Räber & Cie, 1964. no. 28, p. 16.
Bloch, Peter, Hermann Schnitzler, Charles Ratton, and W. F. Volbach. "Mittelalterliche Kunst der Sammlung Kofler-Truniger, Luzern." Aachener Kunstblätter 31 (1965). p. 16.
Kühnel, Ernst. Die islamischen Elfenbeinskulpturen VIII.–XIII. Jahrhundert. Die Elfenbeinskulpturen. Berlin: Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft, 1971. no. 29, p. 37, pl. XVI.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "One Hundred First Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year July 1, 1970 through June 30, 1971." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 101 (1971). p. 21.
The New York Times. "Metropolitan Museum Acquires 13 Outstanding Medieval Ivories." The New York Times (December 1, 1972). p. 41.
Raggio, Olga, ed. "Medieval Art and the Cloisters." Notable Acquisitions (Metropolitan Museum of Art) no. 1965/1975 (1975). p. 155.
Raggio, Olga, ed. Patterns of Collecting: Selected Acquisitions, 1965-1975; Explanatory Texts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. p. 17.
Philippowich, Eugen von. Elfenbein: ein Handbuch für Sammler und Liebhaber. Bibliothek für Kunst- und Antiquitätenfreunde, Vol. 17. 2nd ed. Munich: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1982. p. 143.
Little, Charles T. "Ivory Carving." In Dictionary of the Middle Ages, edited by Joseph R. Strayer. Vol. 7. New York: Scribner, 1986. p. 27.
Mann, Vivian B., Jerrilynn D. Dodds, and T. F. Glick, ed. Convivencia: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Medieval Spain. New York: Jewish Museum, 1992. no. 87, p. 233.
Les Andalousies de Damas à Cordoue. Paris: Institut du Monde Arabe, 2000. no. 104, pp. 122–23.
Cutler, Anthony. "Ivory Working in Umayyad Córdoba: Techniques and Implications." In The Ivories of Muslim Spain: Papers from a Symposium Held in Copenhagen from the 18th to the 20th of November 2003, edited by Kjeld von Folsach, and Joachim Meyer. Journal of the David Collection, Vol. 2, pt. 1. Copenhagen: The David Collection, 2005. pp. 39–45, fig. 22, 24, 28, (as cat. no. 15).
Galán y Galindo, Ángel. Marfiles Medievales del Islam: Volume 2, Catálogo de Piezas. Cordoba: Publicaciones Obra Social Y Cultural Cajasur, 2005. no. 02024, pp. 47, 505.
Norris, Michael. Medieval Art: A Resource for Educators. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. pp. 13–14, fig. 5.
Von Folsach, Kjeld, and Joachim Meyer, ed. The Ivories of Muslim Spain: Papers from a Symposium Held in Copenhagen from the 18th to the 20th of November 2003. Journal of the David Collection, Vol. pt. 2. Copenhagen: The David Collection, 2005. no. 15, p. 323.
Galán y Galindo, Ángel. "Sobre el origen de los marfiles califales cordobeses." Arte, Arqueología e Historia 13 (2006). p. 55, ill.
Barnet, Peter, and Atsuyuki Nakahara, ed. Earth, Sea, Sky: Nature in Western Art – Masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tokyo: Yomiuri Shimbun, 2012. no. 56, pp. 109, 230.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. 75th Anniversary ed. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 26.
Anderson, Glaire D. The Islamic Villa in Early Medieval Iberia: Architecture and Court Culture in Umayyad Córdoba. Burlington: Ashgate, 2013. pp. 88–90, pls. 12, 59.
Musée du Louvre Antoine-Köning, Élisabeth. "Quatre Ivoires Gothiques de L'Ancienne Collection Kofler-Truniger." La Revue des Musées de France: Revue du Louvre 3 (2019). p. 11, fig. 1.
Perratore, Julia. "Spain 1000-1200: Art at the Frontiers of Faith." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n. s., 79, no. 2 (Fall 2021). p. 21, fig. 25.
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