[1] This cylindrical carved box was commissioned by the Umayyad caliph Al-Hakam II in 964 CE for Subh, his concubine, and the mother of the princes Abd al-Rahman and Hishâm and is linked to the palatine ivory workshops of Madinat al-Zahra.

The iconography found within the carvings on the surfaces of many of the pyxides created during this period reinforced the ideas of the Umayyad political superiority over the Abbasids.

This is what he ordered to be made for the noble lady, the mother of Abd al-Rahman under the direction of Durri al-Saghir in the year 353 [964 AD]”.

[7] Ivory was expensive due to the distance between sub-sahara Africa and India, where elephant tusk was procured, and the Mediterranean,[8] where it was carved.

The Umayyad Caliphate brought the pyxis carving tradition to Spain as they took control of the peninsula in the 8th century AD.

[12] The Pyxis of Zamora displays this quality of work through the deep-relief interlacing pattern and the lack of any visible tool marks.

[13] Cylindrical pyxides, such as the Pyxis of Zamora, were created using the natural curvature and hollowness of the thickest part of the elephant tusk.

The decoration of the Pyxis of Zamora also encouraged the viewer to open[18] the container since the expensive exterior mirrored the precious material held inside (often perfume or jewels).

[20] This Sasanian trend later influenced the royal decorative arts of the Umayyad period, resulting in the repeated use of the winged motif on luxury goods.