Pyxis Depicting Women at the Tomb
of Christ, 500s, Byzantine; Made in the eastern Mediterranean, Ivory; 33 x 35
in. (83.8 x 88.9 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) ■ Narrative scenes such
as this made visible the words of the Gospels. On one side of this pyxis, in a
scene based on the Gospel of Luke (24:1–10), three women—the Virgin Mary, Mary
Magdalene, and Mary, mother of James—stand with their hands raised in the orant
(prayer) pose. On the other side of the box, two of the Marys swing censers as
they approach a domed space where tied-back curtains reveal an altar
illuminated by a suspended lamp. The iconography of the altar area is familiar
from the fifth-century Pola Ivory (Museo Archeologico, Venice), a
representation of the sanctuary area of Old Saint Peter's in Rome. On the altar
is the Gospel book. In the early church, the altar became understood as the
symbol of Christ's tomb; this conflation is partially based on the fact that
the Eucharistic elements were placed on the altar during the liturgy, and
specially preserved portions reposed on the altar for use during emergencies.
Ivory containers, like this finely carved example worked from a cross section
of an elephant's tusk, may have been used to carry the bread of the Eucharist
to those too ill or elderly to attend the service ■