Sicilian ivory pyxis, 13th century

Pyxis with hunters.
Box with Equestrian Falconers
Date: 13th century
Geography: Made in Sicily, Italy
Culture: Italian
Medium: Ivory with copper alloy mounts, polychromy
Dimensions: Overall (with mounts): 5 5/16 x 4 5/8 x 5 1/16 in. (13.5 x 11.7 x 12.9 cm)
Classification: Ivories
Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1955
Accession Number: 55.29.2
Hunting scenes decorate a number of surviving cylindrical boxes made in Sicily. This box, depicting a falcon hunt, shows richly attired men on horseback. The sport was favored by Holy Roman emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen (r. 1215–50), who wrote a definitive guide on the care and use of falcons in the hunt.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Back to more images of this Sicilian ivory pyxis, 13th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 55.29.2.