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Lot Essay
A similar pyxis to that offered here is in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum (acc.no.ͶP-1490). It is identical in form, with a similarly chamfered lid and straight sides. It also has a very comparable trefoil latch terminal. Like ours the body of the Hermitage pyxis has a central band with a bold silver-inlaid inscription interrupted by figural roundels. That is attributed to 13th century Syria. The three-fielded shield that punctuates the minor calligraphic bands of our pyxis is one that appears several times as a blazon of the Bahri Mamluks, especially those who were elevated to the rank of amir in the second half of the 13th century (Mayer 1999 reprint, p.17).
The Victoria & Albert Museum has, amongst its holdings, an electotype of our pyxis (REPRO.1854C-32). The box was created by Elkington and Co. at Gore House, Kensington, in 1854. The Victoria and Albert Museum has its origins in the Great Exhibition of 1851. It’s establishment, initially as the ‘Museum of Manufactures’ was driven by the desire of the first director, Henry Cole, to improve British design and manufacturing. When John Charles Robinson became curator in 1853, the focus expanded to include historic art and high-quality reproductions—like electrotypes, plaster casts, and photographs. These cutting-edge technologies made art more accessible, allowing students and the public to study both modern and historic works that were otherwise out of reach. That they selected our medieval pyxis as the basis for one of their electrotypes indicates that it was a well-known and respected example of Mamluk metalwork even in the 1850s.
Our pyxis was formerly in the collection of Major Rohde Hawkins (1821–1884), an architect who trained under Thomas Cubitt, known for Osborne House and parts of Buckingham Palace. Hawkins later collaborated with Edward Blore, another important royal architect. Though connected to major figures, Hawkins mainly designed churches and schools and was appointed official school architect by the Privy Council’s Education Department. He was also a collector. His father, Edward Hawkins (1780-1867), had been the Keeper of Antiquities at the British Museum. When his architectural studies were complete and before setting up his own practice, he worked for his father – travelling across the Middle East and Asia in search of antiquities worthy of study and acquisition. It is likely that this is how he came to own this pyxis.
The Victoria & Albert Museum has, amongst its holdings, an electotype of our pyxis (REPRO.1854C-32). The box was created by Elkington and Co. at Gore House, Kensington, in 1854. The Victoria and Albert Museum has its origins in the Great Exhibition of 1851. It’s establishment, initially as the ‘Museum of Manufactures’ was driven by the desire of the first director, Henry Cole, to improve British design and manufacturing. When John Charles Robinson became curator in 1853, the focus expanded to include historic art and high-quality reproductions—like electrotypes, plaster casts, and photographs. These cutting-edge technologies made art more accessible, allowing students and the public to study both modern and historic works that were otherwise out of reach. That they selected our medieval pyxis as the basis for one of their electrotypes indicates that it was a well-known and respected example of Mamluk metalwork even in the 1850s.
Our pyxis was formerly in the collection of Major Rohde Hawkins (1821–1884), an architect who trained under Thomas Cubitt, known for Osborne House and parts of Buckingham Palace. Hawkins later collaborated with Edward Blore, another important royal architect. Though connected to major figures, Hawkins mainly designed churches and schools and was appointed official school architect by the Privy Council’s Education Department. He was also a collector. His father, Edward Hawkins (1780-1867), had been the Keeper of Antiquities at the British Museum. When his architectural studies were complete and before setting up his own practice, he worked for his father – travelling across the Middle East and Asia in search of antiquities worthy of study and acquisition. It is likely that this is how he came to own this pyxis.