Box

Box - Styles and Influences

327
Box
Byzantine or Italy; 12th? c.;

The wood is old and several panels on both lid and sides have been replaced. It is one of a series known for their rosette pattern of which there are 40 known examples. The name comes from the bands of rosettes which frame the little reliefs of mythological figures, or in the example in Rheims a mixture of Biblical and temporal scenes with no obvious connection. The Mimara box is oblong with a flat sliding lid, which was a very common form, and is made of small panels of ivory stuck to an old wooden backing.