The "Apostles" Pyx (Box)
Triptych Group
c. 980–1010
Medium
ivory
Dimensions
25.5 × 17.5 cm
Classification
Ivory
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1973.4
Tags
gender unknown
About this artwork
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 843-12...