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Round stone pyxides from Karkemish and North Syria: Remarks on their distribution and significance

Claudia D’Orazio
p. 79-100

Résumés

Les pyxides lithiques rondes de Karkémish et de Syrie du Nord : quelques remarques sur leur distribution et leur signification
Résumé – Cet article propose un réexamen des pyxides lithiques rondes « à cosmétiques » de Karkémish et d’autres sites de Syrie du Nord pendant les âges du Fer II et III. Quelques exemples publiés récemment apportent des éléments nouveaux permettant une meilleure compréhension de la fabrication, de la diffusion et de la chronologie de cette catégorie. Le corpus de quarante-six exemplaires, comprenant des couvercles et des récipients, est discuté à partir des contextes de découverte, de la chronologie et des caractéristiques typologiques et stylistiques. La majorité des pyxides lithiques a été mise au jour sur les sites de Karkémish, Chatal Höyük, Tell Tayinat et Tell Afis, tandis que quatre exemplaires ont dû rejoindre l’Assyrie, probablement comme tribut ou butin. Des tendances sont discernables en lien avec la distribution des pyxides lithiques dans les contextes domestiques et officiels de la fin du xe s. et du début du ixe s. av. J.-C. aux viiie-viie s. av. J.-C. et au-delà.

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Notes de l’auteur

I would like to express my gratitude to Nicolò Marchetti, director of the Turco-Italian Archaeological Expedition at Karkemish by the Universities of Bologna, Istanbul, and Gaziantep, for allowing me to study and publish the Karkemish materials and for his comments on this paper. Any remaining inaccuracy is my own. My gratitude goes also to Stefania Mazzoni for discussing the Rasm et-Tanjara finds; to Tim Harrison for sharing with me the database entries for “cosmetic boxes” from the 1930s excavations at Tell Tayinat; to Luisa Guerri for taking the photographs reproduced in fig. 3, 4, 6; and to Silvia Di Cristina for transcribing the notebook quoted in note 15 below. The Karkemish Expedition is especially grateful to Jonathan Tubb, keeper of the Middle East Department at the British Museum, and to Zeynep Kızıltan, former director of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums for permission to study the archival and material holdings on Karkemish kept at those two museums.

Texte intégral

  • 1 The term pyxis, derived from ancient Greek, identifies a class of small boxes fastened by lids, ma (...)
  • 2 More than one-hundred ivory pyxides are known between Mesopotamian and the Levant in the early Iro (...)
  • 3 See Winter 1983; Mazzoni 2001 and 2005.
  • 4 See Orthmann 1971; Winter 1983; Mazzoni 2001; Mazzoni 2005.
  • 5 See Wicke 2008. In addition to the already mentioned studies, stone pyxides have also been briefly (...)

1So-called cosmetic pyxides 1 from the ancient Near East have been the object of a series of in-depth studies concerning their stylistic and typological aspects. Ivory pyxides found in the Levant and in Assyria have long been discussed as a class of its own among the production of ivory portable objects between the Late Bronze and the Iron II periods. 2 Stone pyxides, on the other hand, have been addressed by studies on minor arts in North Syria. 3 Research has highlighted the connection between monumental and small-scale artworks in North Syria during the early Iron Age. 4 A comprehensive catalogue of pyxides from the Levant to Elam between the mid-2nd to the mid-1st millennium bce has been offered by Wicke. 5 Since that landmark study, several additional excavated specimens—mainly from Iron age contexts at sites in the ʿAmuq and from the capital city of Karkemish on the Euphrates—have become known and they do offer, in fact, significant new insights for our understanding of the manufacture, diffusion, and chronology of this class.

  • 6 In fact, more than twenty other specimens are known from the antiquity market (Wicke 2008, nos. KH (...)
  • 7 For a proposed reconstruction of the possible closing systems of the pyxides, see Wicke 2008, pl.  (...)

2As far as provenanced pieces are concerned, a corpus of 46 specimens, which includes 22 containers and 24 lids, is discussed here according to their retrieval context, chronology, and typological features (see table 1 below). 6 Two main subtypes can be identified for Iron age round stone pyxis containers: A) simple round containers; B) round containers with side hole, between two vertical grooves, for the pivot of the sliding lid fastened by a knob on the opposite side. These containers present up to five inner compartments (1-5). Only one kind of round lid has been identified in the corpus (corresponding to the container type B), presenting two grooves and usually one or two perforations (H1-2) for pivots and knobs. 7 In a few examples, additional decorative elements, possibly made of different material, such as bone, are inserted in the middle of the lids.

3Both lids and containers are decorated with either carved, incised, or inlaid elements. Six decorative schemes have been recognized in the corpus, i.e. banquet scenes (I), hunting scenes (II), a combination of both (III), heraldic figures (IV), and contest scenes (V). The last scheme (VI) is represented by a schematic decoration made of incised circles, cross-hatched, and zig-zag lines on the containers and a central rosette, incised or excised, and concentric bands filled with geometric patterns on the lids.

  • 8 For a more in-depth discussion of the stones used as raw materials in the North Syria region, see (...)

4Various kinds of fine stones are used for these containers 8 (but a proper petrological classification is unfortunately lacking and in many cases stone identifications are here tentative at best). Among them, the most represented are greenish stone and steatite employed for more than half of the pieces in the corpus; limestone has been used in five specimens, one from Karkemish (cat. no. 1) and the others from Chatal Höyük (cat. nos. 13, 15, 23, 25); basalt, commonly employed in North Syria for vessels, is attested only once at Chatal Höyük (cat. no. 7); red jasper is indicated for an unpublished piece from Tell Tayinat (cat. no. 31).

  • 9 Scholars traditionally refer to these small boxes as cosmetic containers (see among the others Kan (...)

5As far as the function of pyxides is concerned, they have long been thought to be cosmetic containers, but the evidence seems more nuanced, as it will be argued below. 9

Pyxides from known contexts

  • 10 See Zaina 2018, p. 356, table 5.1. For the chronology of the ʿAmuq, see also Pucci 2019, pl. 1.

6Forty-six round stone pyxides from excavations or known contexts (fig. 1) are listed here. Whenever available, a date and a functional interpretation for the context is provided. The chronology adopted for North Syrian sites follows the periodization employed for area G at Karkemish. 10

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Map of North Syria and Upper Mesopotamia with sites with provenanced round stone pyxides dating to Iron II and III, with also an indication of the possible workshops (Karkemish, Tell Afis, Chatal Höyük)

computer graphics by Marco Valeri

  • 11 In most cases, the distinction between an administrative or a cultic function for the contexts of (...)

7The fact is that, for most of the pieces studied here, it is not possible to say much more than the site they come from; they are often from excavations, but we do not have sufficient details for their context of retrieval both in terms of chronology and of functional interpretation. Thus, in table 1, I have classified the contexts only according to two broad functional categories, i.e. official (O) and household (H), where the first term is limited for pieces which come from administrative or cultic complexes/sectors which are of a public nature, 11 while the second one includes any context which is private/residential irrespective of whether it is of an elite nature or not.

Table 1. Provenanced Iron Age North Syrian round stone pyxides: type, context and date

Table 1. Provenanced Iron Age North Syrian round stone pyxides: type, context and date

The Karkemish subset

8Following the discovery of a pyxis lid on the acropolis of Karkemish in 2017, a reassessment of round pyxides from Karkemish (five specimens overall) is carried out here, obtaining also some new data on their spots of retrieval.

  • 12 The object, now kept in Gaziantep Archaeological Museum, is of not completely certain stratigraphi (...)
  • 13 This heraldic scene has close parallel with the decoration of the pyxis lid in the Boston Museum o (...)

9In 2017, a fragmentary pyxis lid was retrieved along the very edge of a pit of Hellenistic date (P.4848 with its fill F.9447) cutting the filling of a room of the Late Bronze II palace AA on the Acropolis mound (cat. no. 1, fig. 2). 12 The piece (l. 8.9 × w. 5.0 × th. 1.1 cm), of which only half is preserved, is made of fine limestone of yellowish color and is round-shaped with two vertical grooves framing the side hole for the pivot. The lid presents a low relief carved decoration both on the top and the edge. On the top, two standing bull-men on both sides of a palm tree can be recognized. The trunk of the tree is decorated with oblique lines and what may be a leaf can be seen on its right side. The scene is framed by a guilloche motif. Another guilloche is carved on the edge, interrupted by three rosettes encased in panels corresponding to each groove. The central rosette presents eight petals, while the other two have five petals. Moreover, it can be noted that the lid shape and decoration are slightly asymmetrical: thus, along the edge, the craftsman carved additional elements (three vertical strokes and a double volute) to fill the voids. 13

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Cat. no. 1 – Karkemish

drawing and photos by N. Marchetti, inking by Tiziana D’Este

  • 14 See Woolley 1921, pl. 28.4.

10Four other pyxides were retrieved at Karkemish in the 1910s. 14 Among them, two fragmentary containers were collected from the so-called Water Postern on the eastern side of the Acropolis mound, assigned by Woolley to his “Late Hittite” period (cat. nos. 2-3, fig. 3-4), i.e. to the Iron Age. Although the stratigraphy and architecture of this spot of retrieval are unclear, several other objects were found together with the pyxides, such as seals, amulets and a jewelry mold, that can be dated to the later part of the Iron Age, i.e. to the 7th cent. bce.

Figure 3.

Figure 3.

Cat. no. 2 – Karkemish

(photos by Luisa Guerri, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum).

Figure 4.

Figure 4.

Cat. no. 3 – Karkemish

photos by Luisa Guerri, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum

  • 15 This information was found in an unpublished manuscript kept in the archives of the Middle East De (...)
  • 16 See Woolley and Barnett 1952, p. 206, note 2, fig. 82. A picture of the pyxis without additional i (...)
  • 17 At Karkemish itself, parallels for this scene can be recognized among the late 10th cent. bce monu (...)

11Concerning the last two specimens from the site, a fragmentary lid and part of a container, it is now possible to add new information regarding their spots of retrieval. The fragmentary steatite lid, carved with a hunting scene on the top and a guilloche on the edge (cat. no. 5, fig. 5), was acquired by Woolley, having been allegedly found on the Acropolis mound. 15 The other fragment, called a steatite box by Woolley, is a small fragment of a round pyxis with at least two compartments (cat. no. 4, fig. 6). This piece was retrieved by Hogarth on the Acropolis, in trench C, located above the Water Postern and near the Roman temple, in association with seemingly Iron III materials. 16 The scene, carved in low relief, shows on the left a deer above a recumbent horned bull, both facing right; divided by a plain frame, on the right, only part of a tree with three branches is preserved. 17

Figure 5.

Figure 5.

Cat. no. 5 – Karkemish

photos by Luisa Guerri, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum

Figure 6.

Figure 6.

Cat. no. 4 – Karkemish

courtesy of Istanbul Archaeological Museums

  • 18 Karkemish is one of the three centers of manufacture of IA round stone pyxides proposed in this ar (...)
  • 19 Orthmann 1971, p. 165, discussing the orthostats belonging to the Herald’s Wall, the Long Wall of (...)
  • 20 For rosette panels and guilloche frames also observed on the large reliefs in the Lower Palace are (...)

12Finally, the close internal similarity of the five pyxides from Karkemish allows us to suggest a common place of manufacture for them (cat. nos. 1-5): their workshop was thus perhaps located at Karkemish or in its surroundings, being active during the Iron II (and III as well?) period. 18 The elaborate carved scenes on the pyxides are, in fact, related to the contemporary monumental orthostats in the Lower Palace area. 19 In addition, as already noted by Winter, the rosette panels together with the guilloche frames, present on three pieces of the Karkemish corpus (cat. nos. 1, 2, 5), are absent in other pyxides from the region and can be considered a typical trait of the Karkemish workshop. 20

ʿAmuq valley sites

  • 21 See Pucci 2019, p. 235-239. In addition to round cosmetics boxes and lids, it is worth noticing th (...)

13The richest assemblage of round stone pyxides, which has been documented so far, comes from the Iron Age sites in the ‘Amuq valley. At Chatal Höyük a total of twenty specimens, both lids and containers, was collected among several other pyxis types and cosmetic tools (cat. nos. 6-25, fig. 7-12). 21 The majority belongs to our pyxis subtype B, showing between two and five inner compartments. A common decorative pattern can be recognized for these pyxides made of geometric incised lines and circles, incised, excised or carved rosette.

Figure 7.

Figure 7.

Cat. no. 6 – Chatal Höyük

(Pucci 2019, pl. 177f

Figure 8.

Figure 8.

Cat. no. 11 – Chatal Höyük

Pucci 2019, pl. 177a

Figure 9.

Figure 9.

Cat. no. 14 – Chatal Höyük

Pucci 2019, pl. 177d

Figure 10.

Figure 10.

Cat. no. 16 – Chatal Höyük

Pucci 2019, pl. 177c

Figure 11.

Figure 11.

Cat. no. 17 – Chatal Höyük

Pucci 2019, fig. 96

Figure 12.

Figure 12.

Cat. no. 18 – Chatal Höyük

Pucci 2019, pl. 177g

  • 22 For a description of the context see Pucci 2019, p. 294.
  • 23 The stratigraphy and the chronological attribution, however, appear quite uncertain based on a sma (...)
  • 24 See below for the pieces from Tell Afis and for a discussion on workshops.
  • 25 See Pucci 2017, p. 565-566.

14Apart from seven pieces of unknown provenance and date, eleven specimens were retrieved from household contexts, while two pyxides (cat. nos. 6 and 23) were found in area IV, occupied by a large building with possible representative function. 22 Concerning the chronology of these pieces, only one lid comes from an early context dating between the late 10th and the early 9th cent. bce, corresponding to the local phase N-late (cat. no. 11, fig. 8). 23 This specimen appears similar to a fragmentary Iron II lid from Tell Afis (cat. no. 37, fig. 18) and can perhaps be considered an import from this site. 24 All the other pieces from Chatal Höyük were retrieved from more recent levels, dating between the late 8th and the 6th cent. bce, local phases O-mid and O-late. According to Pucci, who identifies a workshop producing stone censers at the site, these “cosmetic” pyxides were locally produced and widespread within the late Iron II and Iron III settlements. 25

  • 26 Of the twelve “cosmetic” containers from the 1930s excavations at Tell Tayinat, which are kept at (...)
  • 27 Osborne 2021, p. 127-128.
  • 28 Osborne 2021, p. 128.
  • 29 It is worth mentioning that feasting scenes are also depicted on ivory pyxides (Herrmann 2017, p.  (...)

15Some other pieces were found in contexts the date of which is even less certain: one complete steatite container from the Iron II-III layers at Tell Judaidah with five inner compartments (cat. no. 26, fig. 13) and six specimens from the 1930s excavations at Tell Tayinat, 26 decorated with various incised geometric patterns (cat. nos. 27-32). Significantly, these pieces were mostly found in the official west central area of the mound, in contexts seemingly dating between the end of 9th and the 8th cent. bce. Another complete steatite pyxis container has been recently found at Tell Tayinat among the cultic paraphernalia of the so-called building XVI, a temple dating from the Iron III period (cat. no. 33, fig. 14). The container belongs to the first subtype (A) with two pierced hole, one on the wall and the other on the bottom, probably for pivots of the sliding lid. Unlike the other pieces from the site, this pyxis shows an elaborate carved decoration depicting a feasting scene that stylistically has been paralleled to the orthostats from Karatepe. 27 Hence, it may be possible to suggest a manufacture date for pyxis between the late 8th and the early 7th cent. bce, while it continued to be used and displayed through the Neo-Assyrian period. 28 The feasting scene, on the other hand, might refers to the ritual banquet in which the pyxis was displayed. 29

Figure 13.

Figure 13.

Cat. no. 26 – Tell Judaidah

Herrmann 2014, p. 114, no. 9

Figure 14.

Figure 14.

Cat. no. 33 – Tell Tayinat

Herrmann 2014, p. 115

Other sites in North Syria

  • 30 Mazzoni 2005, p. 47-48, compares the griffin to the ones on orthostats from Zincirli and on an ivo (...)

16Among the other sites in North Syria, a fragmentary lid is known from Gerçin Höyük (where the Hadad temple is located) or nearby Zincirli Höyük (cat. no. 34, fig. 15), carved with incised concentric motifs and a petalled rosette in the middle. At Tell Afis, six fragmentary pyxides made of greenish stone have been found in contexts dating between the end of the 10th and the 7th cent. bce (cat. nos. 35-40, fig. 16-21). All were retrieved in the acropolis, except for one container with three compartments found in a domestic building in the lower town, dating to the early 7th cent. bce (cat. no. 38). Two more fragments (cat. nos. 39-40) were retrieved from 7th cent. bce fillings on the acropolis; therefore the original date of manufacture for these pieces remains uncertain. Among the pyxides from Tell Afis, five fragments present geometric patterns that can be compared to other pyxides from the region, while one container (cat. no. 36, fig. 17) shows a finely carved decoration with only part of a winged griffin preserved. 30

Figure 15.

Figure 15.

Cat. no. 34 – Gerçin Höyük or Zincirli Höyük

Andrae and Luschan 1943, pl. 9f

Figure 16.

Figure 16.

Cat. no. 35 – Tell Afis

Mazzoni 2001, fig. 8

Figure 17.

Figure 17.

Cat. no. 36 – Tell Afis

Mazzoni 2001, fig. 7

Figure 18.

Figure 18.

Cat. no. 37 – Tell Afis

Mazzoni 2001, fig. 9

Figure 19.

Figure 19.

Cat. no. 38 – Tell Afis

Mazzoni 2001, fig. 13

Figure 20.

Figure 20.

Cat. no. 39 – Tell Afis

Mazzoni 2001, fig. 11

Figure 21.

Figure 21.

Cat. no. 40 – Tell Afis

Mazzoni 2001, fig. 12

  • 31 In addition to these finds from archaeological excavations, several other pyxides, mostly with ela (...)

17Another complete pyxis with five inner compartments was found at Tell Deinit, from a late context mixed with Hellenistic material (cat. no. 41, fig. 22), while a four-compartmented specimen complete with its lid (cat. no. 42, fig. 23) comes from the Iron II level at Rasm et-Tanjara. 31 The pyxides from Tell Deinit and Rasm et-Tanjara show similar incised geometric motifs that can be compared with the pieces from Tell Afis.

Figure 22.

Figure 22.

Cat. no. 41 – Tell Deinit

Shaath 1986, fig. 1, pl. 56.1-2

Figure 23.

Figure 23.

Cat. no. 42 – Rasm et-Tanjara

Wicke 2008, pl. 38d–e

Upper Mesopotamia

  • 32 For a catalogue of the ivory pyxides found at Nimrud, see Wicke 2008 and the relative bibliography (...)
  • 33 The use of pyxides in Assyria during the Iron III in non-official contexts is suggested by two alm (...)
  • 34 In more detail, the rendering of the palmette, the archer and the animal figures depicted on the p (...)
  • 35 Unfortunately, it is not possible to date the pieces from Assur (cat. nos. 44-46) with greater acc (...)
  • 36 In addition, another carved pyxis, made of black stone, is mentioned—associated to several ivory f (...)

18A significant number of pyxides has been documented from Neo-Assyrian levels in upper Mesopotamia, although only few specimens belong to the typology of round stone pyxides, 32 which can be counted among luxury items imported from their North Syrian centers of production. 33 All the pieces were found in palatial and cultic contexts. A small fragment was found near the temple of Ishtar in the so-called palace of Ashurnasirpal II at Nineveh from a context which is generally dated to the 9th cent. bce (cat. no. 43, fig. 24). This diorite container, depicting a hunting scene framed by a guilloche motif, presents affinities both in style and themes with the pyxides from Karkemish and was probably manufactured in the same workshop. 34 Three other fragmentary stone pyxides were retrieved in the temple of Ashur at Assur: 35 two small fragments with inner compartments (cat. nos. 44 and 46, fig. 25, 27), while a third piece (cat. no. 45, fig. 26) presents a different decoration made of thin inlays. 36 The fragmentary state of preservation of the Assur pyxides prevents a firm attribution. Nevertheless, one fragment (cat. no. 44) shows part of a hunting scene, a theme similar to the one represented on the pyxides from Nineveh and Karkemish.

Figure 24.

Figure 24.

Cat. no. 43 – Nineveh

Mazzoni 2001, fig. 1

Figure 25.

Figure 25.

Cat. no. 44 – Assur

Gries 2017, pl. 196a

Figure 26.

Figure 26.

Cat. no. 45 – Assur

Gries 2017, pl. 196c

Figure 27.

Figure 27.

Cat. no. 46 – Assur

Gries 2017, pl. 196b

Distribution and significance of stone pyxides during the Iron age

  • 37 Mazzoni 2005, p. 44.
  • 38 Archaeological evidence from Karkemish and other sites in North Syria does not allow to identify t (...)
  • 39 The Tell Deinit and Rasm et-Tanjara specimens may in fact have been made at Tell Afis. On the othe (...)

19The present re-assessment of provenanced round stone pyxides (forty-six in total), found between North Syria and Upper Mesopotamia, allows for a better understanding of the distribution and significance of this peculiar class of objects during the Iron II period and beyond. Concerning their distribution, round stone pyxides can be regarded as a production with different centers of manufacture across North Syria, starting between the late 10th and the early 9th cent. bce (fig. 1). 37 Among them, the five fragmentary pyxides from Karkemish appear as a coherent subset, sharing common sources of inspiration and stylistic traits that find parallels in the contemporary monumental reliefs. Taking into account the similarities between the pieces, they were possibly manufactured at a local workshop with an elaborate/narrative style during the Iron II (and Iron III as well?) period, to which perhaps we may relate also the pieces imported at Nineveh and possibly at Assur. 38 At Tell Afis during the Iron II period, there seems to have been another local workshop of a more common/decorative style. 39 Chatal Höyük was most likely the seat of a workshop with features similar to those of the Tell Afis one but which was certainly active in Iron IIIA-B times, i.e. during both the Neo-Assyrian and the Neo-Babylonian periods.

  • 40 See Winter 2005, p. 33-34.
  • 41 See also above; anyhow they are likely to belong to the 7th cent. bce.
  • 42 Winter 1983, p. 177, 183.

20Stone pyxides manufactured in North Syrian towns were distributed far beyond their original workshops, reaching towards the east the Neo-Assyrian capitals, a pattern similar, if more contained, to that of the ivories. 40 The four specimens from Assur and Nineveh were most probably hoarded as tribute or booty, although it is not possible to precisely date these pyxides according to their findspots. 41 Nevertheless, the stylistic attribution of the fragments from Nineveh and, perhaps, Assur to the Karkemish sphere underlines the pivotal role of the latter site as one of the major political centers of the region producing and exchanging portable luxury items during the Iron II period, as already pointed out by Winter. 42

21At the other end of the production spectrum, pyxides with simpler decorative patterns were manufactured at no less than two North Syrian centers and are found both in official and household contexts. Significantly, the abundant assemblage from Chatal Höyük dates mostly to the Iron IIIA-B period, suggesting a possible continuity in the production and use of this class of objects in the later periods as well.

  • 43 Feldman 2015, p. 97; Feldman 2014a.
  • 44 Marchetti 2019.
  • 45 On ceremonial feasting see Feldman 2014b, p. 63. For a contextual discussion of the Tell Tayinat p (...)

22Following Feldman’s social approach to the study of Levantine ivories, 43 evidence suggests that the use of round stone pyxides in North Syria was somewhat linked to the elite social sphere, playing a central role in the enhancement and sustenance of social relationships by the means of public display during feasting and rituals. Nearly half of the specimens in the corpus can, in fact, be related to official contexts, such as temples and monumental architecture. Among them, the Karkemish fragments have been significantly retrieved on the acropolis mound, where only official buildings must have been located, 44 albeit they all come from secondary contexts therein. The pyxis from Tell Tayinat (cat. no. 33), found in the cella of an Iron III temple, may have had a cultic function within specific rituals and/or feasting during religious celebrations. 45 Significantly, the pyxides found at Assur and Nineveh were also retrieved inside or next to temple complexes.

23On the other hand, fifteen pieces from Chatal Höyük and Tell Afis were retrieved in private household contexts. However, on the basis of the archaeological evidence, it is not possible to infer a different function for pyxides in the latter type of context as compared to the official ones.

  • 46 For a discussion on the representations of pyxides on Iron Age funerary monuments in North Syria, (...)
  • 47 While this is not the case for round stone pyxides known so far, it is worth underlining that a fe (...)
  • 48 Bonatz 2000, p. 76-107; Bonatz 2016, p. 181.

24Iconographic representations of pyxides on large monuments seem to confirm this interpretation. Pyxides, in fact, have been recognized on the banquet scenes of eight non-royal elite funerary monuments, dating between the 9th and 8th cent. bce, such as the Katumuwa stele. 46 The small containers, carved over funerary tables, usually closest to the female or male figure attending the ritual banquet, are believed to represent cylindrical pyxides. 47 Pyxides appear next to various kinds of food and drink offerings, such as bread, stalks of grain, grapes, together with other objects symbolizing the social status of the deceased (of both genders). 48

  • 49 Feldman 2014, p. 67, fig. 7.5; Wicke 2008, p. 151-153, pl. 19.
  • 50 Bonatz 2014, p. 39; Herrmann 2014, p. 114-115.

25In Upper Mesopotamia, a carved container, probably a pyxis, appears on the dining table of Ashurbanipal’s “garden scene”. 49 In addition, the choice of banquet and hunting scenes for the figurative decorations of stone pyxides from Karkemish, Nineveh and Tell Tayinat can be considered a direct reference to the actual use of these containers in public and ritual occasions. In light of this evidence, it is possible to suggest that pyxides were possibly used to contain spices, oils, or other kinds of expensive food consumed during feasts and rituals. 50 However, the lack of chemical analysis does not allow us to totally exclude cosmetics among the contents of stone pyxides.

26To sum up, early Iron Age round stone pyxides, for which two subtypes (A and B) have been distinguished here, can be assigned to two main stylistic groups (five pieces cannot be precisely classified). The first is characterized by elaborate carved scenes on the containers and the lids of the two subtypes; it is represented by ten specimens in the corpus, mainly found in official contexts in North Syria and Upper Mesopotamia. The second group is formed by thirty-one pyxides, belonging exclusively to the second subtype (B), with simpler decorations with geometric designs, from various North Syrian sites found both in official and household contexts. From a chronological point of view, the two groups seem to overlap and follow a pattern somewhat different from what has been maintained thus far: they start between the late 10th and the early 9th cent. bce only to become more popular during the 8th and down into the 7th cent. bce, and possibly also slightly beyond, when—after the production of North Syrian monumental art had ceased by the early 7th cent. bce—local elites seem to have channeled earlier visual communication systems in this tinier and mobile medium.

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Notes

1 The term pyxis, derived from ancient Greek, identifies a class of small boxes fastened by lids, made of various materials, such as pottery, stone, and metal. For an etymological study of the term and its use in ancient Greek sources, see Milne 1939.

2 More than one-hundred ivory pyxides are known between Mesopotamian and the Levant in the early Iron Age, with the largest group retrieved at Nimrud. For a complete catalogue of ivory pyxides, see Wicke 2008.

3 See Winter 1983; Mazzoni 2001 and 2005.

4 See Orthmann 1971; Winter 1983; Mazzoni 2001; Mazzoni 2005.

5 See Wicke 2008. In addition to the already mentioned studies, stone pyxides have also been briefly discussed by Squitieri, who distinguishes two main types among the class of North Syrian boxes: simple boxes and compartmented ones, while the term pyxis is used for a different class of stone vessels (Squitieri 2017, p. 41-42, nos. 33-51, fig. 5.2b and 5.3a; note, incidentally, that an Iron IV piece from Deve Höyük, mistakenly listed there among the compartmented boxes [no. 39], presents instead a simple rectangular shape without inner compartments, as drawn in Moorey 1980, p. 46, no. 139, fig. 8).

6 In fact, more than twenty other specimens are known from the antiquity market (Wicke 2008, nos. KH.4-7, 9-12, 14-28), but they have been excluded from the present corpus due to their uncertain provenance and debated authenticity: see Muscarella 2000, p. 189-190, nos. 2-12; for a methodological caveat cf. also Muscarella 1995; Muscarella 2001. Nevertheless, when relevant to the typological and stylistic discussion, some of these pieces have been mentioned in the footnotes below.

7 For a proposed reconstruction of the possible closing systems of the pyxides, see Wicke 2008, pl. 8.

8 For a more in-depth discussion of the stones used as raw materials in the North Syria region, see Squitieri 2017, p. 29-36; also cf. p. 98-118 on the techniques of manufacture documented in the early Iron age. Significantly, sources of steatite—the prevalent material for portable stone objects in North Syria, such as kohl boxes and censers—have been located in the ʿAmuq region (Squitieri 2017, p. 34, fig. 4.4, 42).

9 Scholars traditionally refer to these small boxes as cosmetic containers (see among the others Kantor 1956; Barnett 1957; Mazzoni 2001, p. 293, Herrmann 2017, p. 174-175). It is worth mentioning that a red substance was noticed inside one of the compartments of an ivory pyxis found in the royal grave at Tell Halaf, but it was not analyzed at that time. In addition to that, a silver spatula was found together with the pyxis, possibly part of a toiletry toolkit (Hrouda and Oppenheim 1962, no. 217, pl. 43, 50; Herrmann and Laidlaw 2009, p. 97). Significantly, chemical analysis conducted on pink powder inside a 4th cent. bce pottery pyxis from Delphi identified the substance as cinnabar that was used in antiquity for cosmetic products (Liritzis et al. 2018, p. 34, 43-44). Nevertheless, contextual and iconographic evidence suggests different functions for pyxides both in classical Greece and ancient Near East, from jewelry boxes to containers for spices and incense (Wicke 2008, p. 119-120; Schmidt 2009; see also below).

10 See Zaina 2018, p. 356, table 5.1. For the chronology of the ʿAmuq, see also Pucci 2019, pl. 1.

11 In most cases, the distinction between an administrative or a cultic function for the contexts of retrieval of the stone pyxides cannot be made on the basis of the archaeological evidence (e.g. the acropolis of Karkemish is surmised to have been the seat of the official buildings of the Neo-Hittite city, but as a matter of fact we lack any precision whence the stone pyxides therein may have actually come from). For this reason, in the framework of the present article we have deemed more useful to employ a general definition encompassing both terms.

12 The object, now kept in Gaziantep Archaeological Museum, is of not completely certain stratigraphic attribution since it was found at the interface of the pit with the LB II fill of the room. However, an early dating seems excluded by the object’s typology (see the discussion below).

13 This heraldic scene has close parallel with the decoration of the pyxis lid in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, allegedly from Rasm et-Tanjara (Athanassiou 1977, no. 99, pl. 537-538; Mazzoni 2001, p. 295, fig. 4; Mazzoni 2005, p. 45, pl. 12.3; Wicke 2008, p. 371-373, no. KH.9). The Boston lid together with its container, acquired on the antiquities market and probably an original piece in my opinion, is mentioned by Muscarella 2000, p. 189, without any comment. Concerning the heraldic scheme, another parallel can be found on an ivory container from well AJ at Nimrud (Safer and al-Iraqi 1987, p. 58-60, fig. 45-46; Wicke 2008, p. 303-304, no. Nim.39, pl. 65j; Herrmann and Laidlaw 2009, p. 186-187, no. 235, pl. 48-49). Two winged men flanking a tree can be seen on a pyxis lid of Urartian imitation/execution found in an 8th-7th cent. bce context at Karmir Blur (Piotrovskij 1966, p. 271, pl. XLIX; Wicke 2008, p. 273, no. KB.5, pl. 92a). For additional references on the origins and circulation of this motif, see also the discussion of an ivory plaque found at Arslantepe, dating from the early 8th cent. bce (Manuelli and Pittman 2019).

14 See Woolley 1921, pl. 28.4.

15 This information was found in an unpublished manuscript kept in the archives of the Middle East Department at the British Museum (C. L. Woolley, “British Museum expedition to Carchemish. Monthly report for May 1912,” dated May 30th 1912, p. 6-7). For a detailed description of the carved scene of cat. no. 5 and a discussion of its parallels, see Winter 1983, p. 184.

16 See Woolley and Barnett 1952, p. 206, note 2, fig. 82. A picture of the pyxis without additional information was attached by Hogarth to a letter of his, kept in the archives of the Middle East Department at the British Museum, dated June 7th 1912. The piece was thus retrieved earlier during that same year, rather than in 1911.

17 At Karkemish itself, parallels for this scene can be recognized among the late 10th cent. bce monumental reliefs, such as on two orthostats of the Herald’s Wall (Hogarth 1914, pl. B10; Woolley and Barnett 1952, pl. B49).

18 Karkemish is one of the three centers of manufacture of IA round stone pyxides proposed in this article. See the discussion below, and fig. 1 for the distribution of the pieces and related workshops.

19 Orthmann 1971, p. 165, discussing the orthostats belonging to the Herald’s Wall, the Long Wall of Sculpture and the Processional Entry, has already noted the relation between stone pyxides and contemporary monumental art at Karkemish. Several other studies have pointed out a close relationship between large-scale monumental reliefs and portable luxury items, such as ivories and metal objects (see, for instance, Kantor 1956; Winter 1983; Winter 1989; Wicke 2013, p. 563-564).

20 For rosette panels and guilloche frames also observed on the large reliefs in the Lower Palace area at Karkemish and on the ivory pyxides found at Nimrud, see Winter 1983, p. 184-185; Pucci 2019, p. 236-237.

21 See Pucci 2019, p. 235-239. In addition to round cosmetics boxes and lids, it is worth noticing that seven rectangular pyxides, among lids and containers, are also known from the site, sharing the same materials and decorative patterns with the round ones (Pucci 2019, nos. 325, 328, 331, 338, 341, 342, 346).

22 For a description of the context see Pucci 2019, p. 294.

23 The stratigraphy and the chronological attribution, however, appear quite uncertain based on a small amount of pottery sherds (Pucci 2019, p. 89).

24 See below for the pieces from Tell Afis and for a discussion on workshops.

25 See Pucci 2017, p. 565-566.

26 Of the twelve “cosmetic” containers from the 1930s excavations at Tell Tayinat, which are kept at the Oriental Institute Museum and remain unpublished, I could propose a tentative typological attribution only for the six that have a sufficiently detailed description.

27 Osborne 2021, p. 127-128.

28 Osborne 2021, p. 128.

29 It is worth mentioning that feasting scenes are also depicted on ivory pyxides (Herrmann 2017, p. 148, fig. 235-274 from Nimrud). See also below.

30 Mazzoni 2005, p. 47-48, compares the griffin to the ones on orthostats from Zincirli and on an ivory pyxis from Nimrud.

31 In addition to these finds from archaeological excavations, several other pyxides, mostly with elaborate decorations, were acquired on the antiquities market, allegedly from Tell Rifʾat (Shaath 1986, p. 238-239, pl. 57.5, 58.6-9), Tell al-Mahmudiye (Orthmann 1971, p. 164-165, 553, no. Sammlung Herzfeld X/1, pl. 70c-e; Muscarella 2000, p. 189; Mazzoni 2001, p. 295-296, 298, fig. 5) and from the looted site of Rasm et-Tanjara (Athanassiou 1977, no. 100). According to Muscarella 2000, p. 189-190, these pieces are the product of forgeries, while they are accepted as possible original by Mazzoni 2001, p. 295-296. See also notes 6 and 13 above.

32 For a catalogue of the ivory pyxides found at Nimrud, see Wicke 2008 and the relative bibliography. See also note 2 above.

33 The use of pyxides in Assyria during the Iron III in non-official contexts is suggested by two almost identical bone lids decorated with dotted circles along the edge, found in the lower town of Nineveh during the 2020 excavation campaign by the Iraqi-Italian archaeological expedition of the University of Bologna and the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage to East Nineveh. A specimen, KH.20.O.472, was retrieved in a residential building in area H dating to Iron III, while a second specimen, KH.20.O.100, was found in a domestic context in area A, dating to the late/post-Neo Assyrian period. It is possible that the boxes had been manufactured in wood since the diameter of the lids is quite large (13.5 and 12.5 cm respectively) and no fragments of them have been retrieved, which would hint at different levels of production for this class. A similar bone lid is known from the North-East palace at Tell Halaf, dating to the 7th cent. bce (Novák and Ghafur 2009, p. 59, fig. 4.19).

34 In more detail, the rendering of the palmette, the archer and the animal figures depicted on the piece finds parallels with the scenes carved on the pyxides from Karkemish (cat. nos. 2 and 5) and, additionally, with the orthostats of the King’s Gate and the Herald’s Wall (Mazzoni 2001, p. 294-295; Mazzoni 2005, p. 44).

35 Unfortunately, it is not possible to date the pieces from Assur (cat. nos. 44-46) with greater accuracy, due to the lack of information on their contexts of retrieval.

36 In addition, another carved pyxis, made of black stone, is mentioned—associated to several ivory fragments—as from room 8 in the Burnt Palace at Nimrud, but it remains unpublished (Searight, Reade and Finkel 2008, p. 77).

37 Mazzoni 2005, p. 44.

38 Archaeological evidence from Karkemish and other sites in North Syria does not allow to identify the actual workshops of manufacture for stone pyxides as in the case of the censers at Chatal Höyük (Pucci 2017; see also above). Therefore, it is only possible to suggest places of manufacture based on the distribution of the finds and comparative stylistic analysis of the pieces in the corpus with other classes of portable objects and monumental art.

39 The Tell Deinit and Rasm et-Tanjara specimens may in fact have been made at Tell Afis. On the other hand, it is hard to judge the ʿAmuq situation, insofar as workshops are concerned, during Iron II, since several pieces from Tell Tayinat remain unpublished: the Gerçin/Zincirli piece, like that from Tell Judeidah, may have been imported from there or from Tell Afis. However, two finely carved pieces from Tell Tayinat (cat. no. 33) and Tell Afis (cat. no. 36) show peculiar stylistic traits that cannot be ascribed specifically to any of the above identified workshops.

40 See Winter 2005, p. 33-34.

41 See also above; anyhow they are likely to belong to the 7th cent. bce.

42 Winter 1983, p. 177, 183.

43 Feldman 2015, p. 97; Feldman 2014a.

44 Marchetti 2019.

45 On ceremonial feasting see Feldman 2014b, p. 63. For a contextual discussion of the Tell Tayinat pyxis see also above.

46 For a discussion on the representations of pyxides on Iron Age funerary monuments in North Syria, see Bonatz 2000, p. 114-115, e.g. nos. C46, C60, C39, C28, C15, C16; on the Katumuwa stele, see also Struble and Herrmann 2009, p. 28. The significance of funerary stelae and ritual ceremonies in early Iron Age societies is discussed by Bonatz 2016, p. 187-189.

47 While this is not the case for round stone pyxides known so far, it is worth underlining that a few ivory pyxides, such as the pyxis from Tell Halaf (see note 9 above), were retrieved in royal burials, suggesting that these containers were transferred from the daily life to the grave as personal belongings. A similar pattern was observed also in classical Greece where pyxides have been found in women’s and children’s graves (Schmidt 2009).

48 Bonatz 2000, p. 76-107; Bonatz 2016, p. 181.

49 Feldman 2014, p. 67, fig. 7.5; Wicke 2008, p. 151-153, pl. 19.

50 Bonatz 2014, p. 39; Herrmann 2014, p. 114-115.

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Table des illustrations

Titre Figure 1.
Légende Map of North Syria and Upper Mesopotamia with sites with provenanced round stone pyxides dating to Iron II and III, with also an indication of the possible workshops (Karkemish, Tell Afis, Chatal Höyük)
Crédits computer graphics by Marco Valeri
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 310k
Titre Table 1. Provenanced Iron Age North Syrian round stone pyxides: type, context and date
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,8M
Titre Figure 2.
Légende Cat. no. 1 – Karkemish
Crédits drawing and photos by N. Marchetti, inking by Tiziana D’Este
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-3.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 99k
Titre Figure 3.
Légende Cat. no. 2 – Karkemish
Crédits (photos by Luisa Guerri, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-4.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 171k
Titre Figure 4.
Légende Cat. no. 3 – Karkemish
Crédits photos by Luisa Guerri, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-5.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 130k
Titre Figure 5.
Légende Cat. no. 5 – Karkemish
Crédits photos by Luisa Guerri, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-6.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 62k
Titre Figure 6.
Légende Cat. no. 4 – Karkemish
Crédits courtesy of Istanbul Archaeological Museums
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-7.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 67k
Titre Figure 7.
Légende Cat. no. 6 – Chatal Höyük
Crédits (Pucci 2019, pl. 177f
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-8.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 67k
Titre Figure 8.
Légende Cat. no. 11 – Chatal Höyük
Crédits Pucci 2019, pl. 177a
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-9.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 86k
Titre Figure 9.
Légende Cat. no. 14 – Chatal Höyük
Crédits Pucci 2019, pl. 177d
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-10.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 85k
Titre Figure 10.
Légende Cat. no. 16 – Chatal Höyük
Crédits Pucci 2019, pl. 177c
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-11.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 97k
Titre Figure 11.
Légende Cat. no. 17 – Chatal Höyük
Crédits Pucci 2019, fig. 96
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-12.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 267k
Titre Figure 12.
Légende Cat. no. 18 – Chatal Höyük
Crédits Pucci 2019, pl. 177g
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-13.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 105k
Titre Figure 13.
Légende Cat. no. 26 – Tell Judaidah
Crédits Herrmann 2014, p. 114, no. 9
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-14.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 36k
Titre Figure 14.
Légende Cat. no. 33 – Tell Tayinat
Crédits Herrmann 2014, p. 115
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-15.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 107k
Titre Figure 15.
Légende Cat. no. 34 – Gerçin Höyük or Zincirli Höyük
Crédits Andrae and Luschan 1943, pl. 9f
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-16.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 92k
Titre Figure 16.
Légende Cat. no. 35 – Tell Afis
Crédits Mazzoni 2001, fig. 8
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-17.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 242k
Titre Figure 17.
Légende Cat. no. 36 – Tell Afis
Crédits Mazzoni 2001, fig. 7
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-18.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 142k
Titre Figure 18.
Légende Cat. no. 37 – Tell Afis
Crédits Mazzoni 2001, fig. 9
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-19.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 135k
Titre Figure 19.
Légende Cat. no. 38 – Tell Afis
Crédits Mazzoni 2001, fig. 13
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-20.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 149k
Titre Figure 20.
Légende Cat. no. 39 – Tell Afis
Crédits Mazzoni 2001, fig. 11
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-21.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 150k
Titre Figure 21.
Légende Cat. no. 40 – Tell Afis
Crédits Mazzoni 2001, fig. 12
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-22.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 104k
Titre Figure 22.
Légende Cat. no. 41 – Tell Deinit
Crédits Shaath 1986, fig. 1, pl. 56.1-2
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-23.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 154k
Titre Figure 23.
Légende Cat. no. 42 – Rasm et-Tanjara
Crédits Wicke 2008, pl. 38d–e
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-24.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 223k
Titre Figure 24.
Légende Cat. no. 43 – Nineveh
Crédits Mazzoni 2001, fig. 1
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-25.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 191k
Titre Figure 25.
Légende Cat. no. 44 – Assur
Crédits Gries 2017, pl. 196a
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-26.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 112k
Titre Figure 26.
Légende Cat. no. 45 – Assur
Crédits Gries 2017, pl. 196c
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-27.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 80k
Titre Figure 27.
Légende Cat. no. 46 – Assur
Crédits Gries 2017, pl. 196b
URL http://journals.openedition.org/syria/docannexe/image/14454/img-28.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 40k
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Claudia D’Orazio, « Round stone pyxides from Karkemish and North Syria: Remarks on their distribution and significance »Syria, 99 | 2022, 79-100.

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Claudia D’Orazio, « Round stone pyxides from Karkemish and North Syria: Remarks on their distribution and significance »Syria [En ligne], 99 | 2022, mis en ligne le 15 mai 2023, consulté le 04 décembre 2023. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/syria/14454 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/syria.14454

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Claudia D’Orazio

Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna
ORCID: 0000-0001-5255-5962
claudia.dorazio4@unibo.it

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