Ivory pyx with pastoral scenes

Egypt, 6th century
Elephant ivory
H10.5, D13.6 cm
Collection of Vicomte de Janzé, Paris. Given by A.W. Franks in 1866.
P&E 66.7-14.1

Pyxis is a modern term (from the Greek for a 'box') for a circular container cut from a section of an elephant tusk. The pyx is carved with the figures of two seated goatherds, one playing a pipe, the other a cymbal; between them is a hut, with a recumbent goat below. On the other side are two shepherdesses, one holding a basket of fruit, the other playing a pipe; between them are two sheep. About twenty examples of pyxides decorated with mythological or pastoral scenes have survived from the early Byzantine period. They may have had a secular rather than a liturgical function, such as a box for jewellery or a container for incense.