Egypt, 5th century AD
Elephant ivory
H7.7, W9.4 cm
PE 1877.7-6.1
The pyxis is split in two and missing its lock-plate. Underneath a baldachin stands the figure of Daniel flanked by two lions. To his left an angel holds the prophet Habakkuk by the hair to take him to Babylon with a basket of pottage for Daniel. To his right is a helmeted figure holding a staff and an angel and a ram tied to a tree. This is the ram sacrificed by Abraham in Isaac's place.
A pyx was an ivory box decorated with either mythological and pastoral scenes, or with Christian scenes. Their functions probably varied: some may have had an entirely secular function as a container for jewellery, others may have contained the Eucharistic wine or medications.
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