Lot Essay
The 'Henderson box' in the British museum offers a very good comparable for the shape of the present pix. Of a similar size, cylindrical, with hinged bevelled lid, the box is datable to the reign of the Syrian ruler Badr al-Din Lu'lu' (1233-59). The decoration of another circular box in the Cleveland Museum of Art displays an almost identical geometrical lattice and was attributed to late 13th century Syria (Eva Baer, Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art, New York, 1983, p. 133, ill. 111). The beautiful hinge, although probably not originally made for this pix, is contemporary and similar to those found on 12th and 13th century caskets from Sicily.