Pyxis of Ismā’īl

There is vegetal decoration on the cylindrical body and rounded cover. Palm-shaped leaves, half-leaves, and stems form a sort of lacework pattern.

This pyxis was probably made after the collapse of the kingdom of Al-Andalus. It was divided into ten or so small states—the Taifa kingdoms, which were ruled by leaders of factions who'd become kinglets. Ismāʿīl, to whom the pyxis is dedicated, was a Berber who seized territory that included Toledo, Cuenca, and Valencia. Not daring to call himself an emir or sultan, he had himself proclaimed ‘supreme ruler’ (Arabic: qā’īd al-quwwād), as the inscription on the pyxis attests. However, the use of carved ivory was influenced by the princely art of the Umayyads of Spain and the word ‘hajib’ in the dedication refers to an office held by al-Mansūr, at a time when there was a palace, caliph, and chief minister in Córdoba.

The fine craftsmanship is characteristic of the early production in the Cuenca workshops, which was influenced by the majestic style of the Madinat al-Zahra ivories. Meanwhile, we don't know whether these workshops were set up in Madinat al-Zahira—the palace of al-Mansūr and his sons—or when they emigrated to Cuenca. It is very likely that they were made by members of the same family as the oldest known piece, the casket of Saint Dominic of Silos[1] (dating from 1026), bears the signature of Muhammad ibn Zayyān. And the most recent, the casket of Palencia, dating from 1050 and dedicated to the king of Toledo, al-Ma'mun, is also signed by a craftsman called ibn Zayyān: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān[2]. The elegance and fluidity of the leaf-work and the inscription would suggest that it was probably Muhammad ibn Zayyān who made the pyxis of Narbonne. Ivory objects produced in Cuenca were to suffer shortly afterwards from a lack of inventiveness that would distinguish them from their Córdoban models.

These caskets were highly prized in the Latin West. They were used for liturgical purposes and served as custodials (boxes in which sacramental bread was kept), or reliquaries, at a time when the cult of the saints was of central importance. Their precious nature and enigmatic inscriptions made them particularly suitable for this purpose. There are many caskets and pyxides from Al-Andalus, which are connected with the names of Christian edifices: the pyxis of the cathedral of Zamora, the cathedral of Braga (Portugal), and the caskets in the church of Fitero (Navarre), the cathedral of Palencia, and the monasteries of Leyre and Silos. The latter has an enamel plaque showing Saint Dominic of Silos between two angels—here, Muslim art is replaced by Romanesque art and the inscriptions in Arabic and Latin are side by side.

Chronicles written by a monk from the Monastery of Saint Pedro de Arlanza mention the rich booty of ivory caskets taken from al-Mansūr's tent, at the battle of Medinaceli (1002). They were given to the Monastery of San Pedro and displayed in the chapel, on a beam placed above the altar, to ‘Christianize’ them. Whether this is true or false (the text was written much later in 1260), the story shows how much these objects were valued. This was also the case in France, where the cathedrals of Bayeux, Sens, and Narbonne kept ivory reliquaries of Muslim origin and shrines, placed behind the high altar, for the devotion of the worshippers.

[2] Archaeological Museum in Madrid.