Image
French
Pyx, 1200s
Now On View
Description
About
This hinged, covered container (pyx) was designed to hold consecrated communion wafers. In the 13th century it would have been carried when administering the sacrament of Holy Communion to the sick, or used to store wafers that remained unconsumed at the conclusion of the Mass. The liturgical use of this vessel is indicated by the finial in the shape of a Latin cross on the lid, and by the repeated motif of red crosses inscribed in quatrefoils on the surface. This type of decoration was accomplished by incising a depression in the metal ground of the object, then filling it with powdered enamel, which was then fired to form a hard, brilliant pool of color.
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Projects & Publications
Publications
Exhibition History
Exhibition History
Use
The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Pyx with the accession number of 30.011. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.
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