Title

Pyx

Anonimous

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

This pyx belonged to Pedro Manuel de Belmonte, as evidenced by his family coat of arms adorning one of its sides. He was the son of Juan Manuel de Villena y de la Vega and served first as the Bishop of León, and later of Zamora and Santiago de Compostela. It is unknown whether he took the piece with him when he left the city or if it remained in León. The richness of the piece suggests it may have been stolen or directly sold in the early 20th century, a period during which a large number of artistic objects left the country to enrich the collections of wealthy magnates and museums expanding their collections, primarily in the United States (Merino de Cáceres and Martínez Ruiz, 2012). In any case, the pyx was acquired by the Saint Louis Art Museum in 1921, where it remains today.

Description

The pyx had a liturgical purpose, as it served as the vessel to store the Blessed Sacrament. It is decorated with intricate vegetal motifs and the coat of arms of Pedro Manuel de Belmonte’s family. The meticulous decoration of the chalice is particularly noteworthy, depicting Christ crucified.

Locations

• ca. 1540 - Third quarter of the XVI^th c.

  private collection

  Pedro Manuel del Belmonte Bishop, León (Spain) *

• ca. 1921 - present

  museum

  Saint Louis Art Museum, Misuri (United States)