Pyxis of al-Mughira



Pyxis of al-Mughira, possibly from Madinat al-Zahra, AH 357/ 968 CE, carved ivory with traces of jade, 16cm x 11.8 cm (Musée du Louvre, Paris) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

 

For my second blog post for week five I am deciding to do it on the Pyxis of al-Mughira. This is a unique piece which is estimated to be from the “Madinet al-Zahra, AH 357/968 CE” according to smart history. This specific piece is one of the most iconic pieces of its kind. I say this because it is “among the best surviving examples of the royal ivory carving tradition in Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain)” according to smart history. What really makes this piece interesting is where it was made and what the carvings on it are. It is assumed that the ivory carving on this was constructed in the “Madinet al-Zahra workshops” and the specific carvings on this piece make it stand out even more so than others. Trying to understand the “traditions” of ivory carving is very difficult, but one thing to know is that every carving has things such as inscription and figurative work to help express their traditions.

 

Most of the ivories carve were in Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain). Al-Andalus is home to very successful and monumental forms of art from the ruling that took place by the Muslims from 711 to 1492. Some of the remarkable features include, “the Great Mosque of Cordoba, constructed by successive Umayyad Caliphs, and the Alhambra Palace, built by the final Islamic dynasty that controlled Al-Andalus, the Nasrid’s.” According to smart history. Like the piece pictured above all the materials for these buildings and other ivories, were constructed in royal workshops. The reason why ivories were so popular during this time was because ivory was silky smooth, very durable, promoted elegance, and it was easy to work with which helped prove the desirability to create these pieces of art out of this material. The amount of detail in these pieces is just jaw dropping because of what they were able to do with these small canvases. This specific piece (Below) included “This medallion (left) shows two men collecting eggs from the nests of Falcons, a symbol of Umayyad legitimacy.” According to smart history.

 


Pyxis of al-Mughira, possibly from Madinat al-Zahra, AH 357/ 968 CE, Carved ivory with traces of jade (Musée du Louvre, Paris) (photo: University Libraries, University of Washington)


Smart history link: https://smarthistory.org/pyxis-of-al-mughira/

 Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis, "Pyxis of al-Mughira," in Smarthistory, August 8, 2015, accessed September 25, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/pyxis-of-al-mughira/.

Comments

  1. Madison CunninghamSeptember 27, 2020 at 11:07 AM

    Hello Justin! I also did the Pyxis of al-Mughira. While reading about this piece and also looking at others, I was amazed at what was done with ivory! I also found it interesting that these were given as gifts for marriage, coming of age, and other large milestones.

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  2. Amanda GarrettSeptember 27, 2020 at 9:37 PM

    Hi Justin, you stated that carvings in the first piece were created to express traditions. Therefore, I wonder what kind of traditions this specific piece expressed. A lot of other classmates have chosen blog about pieces similar to the ones you chose, and it is interesting to know what these ivory carvings are, how they are used, and purposes they served.

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