Pyx with Council of Apostles at Jerusalem and Abraham’s Sacrifice of Isaac

The Great Berlin Pyx surpasses all surviving Late Antique ivory boxes in both its dimensions and its remarkable artistic quality. In the middle of the main scene, Christ as teacher sits on a throne with a back and footrest in front of an arched structure. His right hand is raised in a speaking gesture and his left holds a scroll. Paul to the left and Peter to the right sit on folding stools, while the remaining apostles stand to the sides gesturing and holding scrolls or bound books in their hands. On the back Abraham raises his sword and grasps the hair of his son Isaac, in order to sacrifice him in accordance with God’s instructions. Isaac remains on the lowest step of a high staircase leading up to an altar. To Abraham’s right the hand of God emerges from the realm of heaven to prevent the human sacrifice. On the left an angel brings forth a ram as a sacrificial animal in place of Isaac. The connection of the sacrifice of Isaac and that of Christ is based on the idea that the events of the Old Testament prefigure those of the New Testament: just as Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son for God, so God sacrificed his son Christ for mankind.