catalogue entry: Pyxis of Zamora
The Pyxis of Zamora is an ivory box with an inscription and vegetal ornaments. It is relatively small, standing at 17.7 centimeters high and 11 centimeters wide.[1] The pyxis has a cylindrical box with a rounded top and contains a lid that is closed by a silver hinge and a clasp. The entire surface is covered in leaves and palms, but also has intermittent images of gazelles, peacocks, and other birds. The animals around the clasp of the pyxis seem to be looking at each other or at a reflection of themselves through a mirror. There are decorations around the border that are rope or chain-like, giving the pyxis a royal appearance. The carvings have a delicate look, but certain features like the animals, stand out further. The inscription explaining the purpose of the pyxis is lining the lid near the opening. Knowing that the Pyxis is made of Ivory, a scarce material, reveals that it is of great value. Pyxides were not everyday objects and were primarily used as gifts for royalty.
The Pyxis of Zamora was made pre-964 A.D. during the Umayyad Caliph of Cordoba.[2] Translating the inscription on the pyxis helps art historians to speculate on the date because it reveals who commissioned the pyxis. Knowing that the pyxis was commissioned by an Umayyad Caliph of Cordoba, Al-Hakam, and when he was in power reveals when the pyxis was created. Other pyxides made from ivory during the same time period also confirm the time of the Pyxis of Zamora because they have similar styles and are from around the same date.
The pyxis was produced in Umayyad, Spain, most likely in a royal workshop. Al-Hakam commissioned the object for his most favored concubine, Subh. The pyxis went to Subh, not as a practical object, but as a symbol of gratitude for providing him with an heir to his thrown.[3] The inscribed words that wrap around the top of the pyxis provide surety in its relation to Al-Hakam and Subh: “The blessing of Allah upon the Imam, the servant of All, al-Hakam II al-Mustansir billah, Commander of the Faithful. This is what he ordered to be made for the noble lady, the mother of Abd al-Rahman under the direction of Durri as-Saghir in the year 353 [964]”.[4]
Although this pyxis was made specifically for Subh, scholars have noted that the designs on the pyxides can give insight into whom they were commissioned for. The pyxides made for women often had vegetal ornaments, which could represent their fertility and maternal function, a primary societal value for women during the time. For Subh, her fertility and child-bearing abilities were so important that they provided her with her official title: “umm-walad (mother of the heir)”.[5] Another pyxis made specifically for a woman was the pyxis in the shape of a breast, it is also covered by vegetal ornaments and its inscription reveals that it is for a woman when it references the “firm breast of a delicate maid”.[6] Ivory caskets were often representative of the maternal dimension of women. As well as the maternal dimension, the vegetal ornament could be also a result of being unable to commission their own art because they could not leave their homes to communicate their desired designs.[7]
Pyxides with designs including men and horses have had more speculations towards their specific meaning. Other Ivory Pyxides were important in Al-Andalus, including one pyxis with political significance is the Pyxis of al-Mughira. It can be noted that the pyxis has images of men and horses, much different from that of the pyxis of Zamora. The meaning of the iconography on the pyxis is not fully agreed on, but most scholars think it is related to al-Hakam’s heirs to the throne.[8] Also showing different types of designs is the Pyxis Ziyad ibn Afia. These pyxides were not strictly aniconic and scholars have attempted to deduce more specific meanings from them.
Ivory pyxides were made to hold precious materials, but this is as much detail as most scholars have agreed on. It is difficult to discover their exact purposes or the exact substances that they held.[9] Even though the exact objects that the pyxides carried are unknown, they also held a symbolic value in Islamic cultures. Many pyxides held political significance, showed wealth, or solely showed gratitude to the receiver.
Ivory was a material of great value and the technique used to carve it was intricate, adding further to its value. Although ivory was the primary material used, artists also utilized other materials including bronze, wood, and silver.[10] The techniques used to carve boxes like the Pyxis of Zamora were called inlaid carving and casting. The Pyxis of Zamora is a quality example of the products made from this valuable ivory. Ivory was valuable due to its rarity and the distance between where the tusk was produced and where it was carved. The time and skill it took to produce the pyxides add to its overall value. It has deeply carved ornamentations that make it seem dense across its entire surface, a difficult look to achieve. The pyxis has decorations all over it that are sculpted by the wire and tip of a burin. This tool is responsible for the ribbed details of the plants, which likely took a lot of time to produce.[11] All the space is filled with some sort of decoration, making it look intricate and polished. If objects could not be made entirely from ivory, bone would be used as a replacement because it is less valuable and rare. Many caskets such as this Byzantine, late 10th century casket has both ivory and bone on it.[12] The complicated processes that are used to make ivory pyxides were done and perfected in royal workshops.[13].
The Pyxis of Zamora specifically was commissioned as a gift for the concubine Subh. Subh was an important figure in Al-Hakam II’s life. Al-Hakam became the Caliph in 961 when he was 46 years old.[14] At the time of his caliphate, he had no sons, which meant no heir to his thrown. Uncertainty in the future of this prosperous kingdom brought a sense of nervousness to Al-Hakam and the opportunity for the current ruling dynasty to be undermined was worrying him. This threat to the unity of the caliphate, with him as caliph, was evident. The tension surrounding Al-Hakam’s caliphate increased with speculations about his homosexuality, possibly encouraging the rule of his younger brother, al-Mughira, in his place. The Pyxis of Zamora was made as a gift to Subh, the concubine that gave birth to Abh al-Rahman in 962. Subh was a special concubine in Al-Hakam’s eyes, changing the grave situation for him. Subh had a custom of dressing in male clothing, and the caliphate addressed her with the male name, “Jafar”. These circumstances made Al-Hakam take a particular interest in her. The pressure surrounding Al-Hakam’s successor eventually led him to want to celebrate the concubine that brought him the heir to his thrown. The importance of this event for Al-Hakam was reported by Ibn Idhari: “As he [Abh al-Rahman] was his first-born son, he [Al-Hakam II] felt such a great joy for the event that poets and littérateurs celebrated it in numerous forms”.[15]
The primary role of the Pyxis of Zamora is a gift for the concubine Subh, but Ivory caskets were often used as gifts in many scenarios. Pyxides, or items similar to them, are introduced in the Book of Gifts and Rarities. In one gift story, the author discusses finding a small box in the treasury room. Upon opening the box, the speaker revealed that it was full of gems and pearls of great value. It seems that there was a large celebration when the box was discovered, and the pearls were seized by the slave girls.[16] Gifts in Islamic cultures were often presented in pyxides, which could be the “box” that held precious jewels in this gift story. Pyxides were often used to hold gifts and were almost a sort of fancy wrapping paper. Another pyxis that was used as a gift is the ivory casket for the daughter of Al-Rahman III.[17] The pyxides themselves were valuable gifts but the items found inside of them were also usually valuable.
Islamic art can be used as gifts that foster a sense of community. Pyxides in specific were used in royal or wealthy Islamic communities to display wealth and refinement. The Pyxis of Zamora had vegetal ornaments that were designed for women of the royal family, and its high society refinement was characteristic of the Cordoba Caliphate. In Al-Andalus, the pyxides were an attempt to surpass the extravagance of the Abbasid society in Baghdad and display their magnificence.[18] They brought the community together under a single purpose: to surpass the Abbasid society. In weddings, which were events that involved a lot of communities, the Mahr is a marriage gift tradition that involves a gift. The Mahr is a payment that a wife receives from her future husband to gain her hand in marriage and can include an Ivory Casket with jewels and precious items.[19] Gift-giving is beneficial for communities because it often strengthens relationships between the giver and the gift recipient. The pyxides were gifts of great value that held a role of importance in community celebrations and values.
[1] Abileh, Mohammad Abu. Pyxis of Zamora. Euromed Heritage programme, 2008. [2] Prado-Vilar, Francisco. Circular Visions of Fertility and Punishment: Caliphal Ivory Caskets from Al-Andalus. Muqarnas 14(1997). [3] Prado-Vilar, 1-2. [4] Prado-Vilar, 1-2 [5] Blair, Sheila S. Islamic Art as a Source for the Study of Women in Premodern Societies. Syracuse University Press (2005), 341-343. [6] Blair, Sheila. 342-343 [7] Prado-Vilar, Francisco. Circular Visions of Fertility and punishment: Caliphal Ivory Caskets from Al-Andalus. (Brill, 1997). 2-5 [8] Prado-Vilar. 5-8. [9] Nees, Lawrence. What’s in the Box: Remarks on some early medieval and early Islamic precious container. (Notes in the History of Art 33, 2014), 67-77. [10] Abileh, Mohammad. [11] Abileh, Muhammad Abu. [12] C. Mango, The Byzantine Collection. (Apollo 119, 1984), fig. 12. [13] Abileh, Mohammad Abu. [14] Prado-Vilar, 1-2. [15] Prado-Vilar, 1-2 [16] Grabar, Oleg, Ghada Hijjawi Qaddumi, and Annemarie Schimmel. The book of Gifts and Rarities, Chapter on Gifts. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996), 67-68. [17] Barry Wood. Casket (Museum with No Frontiers, 2022). [18] Abileh, Mohammad Abu. [19] Fournier, Pascale. Muslim Marriage in Western Courts: Lost in Transplantation (Milton: Routledge, 2010).Works Cited
Abileh, Mohammad Abu. Pyxis of Zamora. Euromed Heritage programme, 2008. https://www.qantaramed.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=235&lang=en#_ftnref1
Barry Wood. Casket (Museum with No Frontiers, 2022).
Blair, Sheila S. “Islamic Art as a Source for the Study of Women in Premodern Societies.” In Beyond the Exotic: Women’s Histories in Islamic Societies, edited by Amira El-Azary Sonbol, 336–46.Syracuse University Press, 2005. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1gt94d0.25.
C. Mango, The Byzantine Collection. (Apollo 119, 1984), fig. 12.
Fournier, Pascale. Muslim Marriage in Western Courts: Lost in Transplantation. Milton: Routledge, 2010.
Grabar, Oleg, Ghada Hijjawi Qaddumi, and Annemarie Schimmel. “Chapter on Gifts, Entry 14.” Essay. Book of Gifts and Rarities = (Kitāb Al-Hadāyā Wa Al-Tuḥaf): Seletions Compiled in the Fifteenth Century from an Eleventh-Century Manuscript on Gifts and Treasures, 67–68. Cambridge (Massachusetts): Harvard University Press, 1996.
Nees, Lawrence. “What’s in the box?: Remarks on some early Medieval and early Islamic precious containers.”Source: Notes in the History of Art 33, no. 3/4 (2014): 67–77. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23725953.
Prado-Vilar, Francisco. “Circular Visions of Fertility and Punishment: Caliphal Ivory Caskets from al-Andalus.” Muqarnas 14 (1997): 19–41. https://doi.org/10.2307/1523234.