PYX

A cast copper alloy gilded lid from a pyx, with Limoges-style enamelled decoration. It is formed from a conical piece of copper alloy; there is no joint evident. At the apex of the cone there is a spherical collar or orb, and a cross with flat front, back and sides; all of these have been made in one piece with the lid. The surface of the lid has been gilded both inside and out, but the interior gilding survives in a better condition. Below the cross and collar there is a deep band of gilding, below which there are four circles, each with an eight-pointed flower/star inside. The circles are enamelled with a light greyish-blue enamel. The flowers/stars are also enamelled, with a similar enamel but slightly more green in appearance. Around the edge of the flower/star there is an outline of gilding. The fields in between the arms of the flower/star have been decorated with rows of punched dots and have been gilded. The circles are also surrounded by a gilded border. In between the four circles there are plant designs, of flowers and leaves springing from a single stem; these are also gilded. The background enamel colour is rather more uncertain, as it has mainly been lost, but it was possibly a darker blue.

The edge of the lid is angled and it then continues down to form a short vertical base or flange. Around the angle there is a band of gilding which is divided by a continuous punched line of double triangles, perhaps made using a roulette. The missing base of the pyx would have been straight-sided and would have stood at a height of 3-5 cm.

There are two projecting loops opposite each other on the vertical base of the lid, made separately and each flaring on the inside then angled out into a triangular flat plate, which has been neatly fixed on to the lid with a single copper-alloy rivet. The two loops are slightly different. One projects out sideways and would have formed part of a hinge mechanism linking the lid to the base. It is heavily worn so that the circular hole has nearly broken through on the internal edge of the upper part, indicating that the pyx was in use for quite some time.

On the opposite side is the second loop. This has the same design as the first, but it points downwards and there is a projection beyond the loop. This loop would have been used to lock the pyx, with a string or pin slotted through the hole to secure it.

This object is perhaps more elaborate than might be expected in a normal parish church. The enamelling is in the Limoges style, and while this style originated in 12th-century France, British craftsmen were copying and developing the technique into the late 13th century, when items such as candlesticks, and perhaps this pyx lid, were being produced.

The pyx lid was found together with two fragments of a late-medieval copper-alloy crown, probably from a wooden statue (see YORYM-5936A7). It seems likely that they were deposited together, perhaps after a theft from the church or perhaps at the Reformation.

Pyxes were (and are) used within the Catholic mass as a container for the host (the communion bread which represents the body of Christ). The best parallel for this pyx is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum; it was found at Godsfield (Hampshire) and is dated to c. 1350-1400. It has a very similar form and proportions, although the detail of the decoration is very different (Alexander and P Binsky (eds) 1987, no. 119).

This pyx was examined by John Cherry (formerly of the British Museum) and Kevin Leahy (PAS National Finds Advisor). John Cherry provided much of the description and interpretation.