Pyxides from Limoges were first mentioned in written sources around 1220. The enameled vessels were produced there in large numbers for liturgical use, as evidenced by the many surviving examples (cf. inv. no. W.M.F5). This richly enameled pyx was used to store consecrated hosts (reliqua sacramenti), which, according to Catholic belief, represent the body of Christ. The lockable liturgical vessel is gilded on the inside. It was kept in the tabernacle of a church.

The copper vessel has a conical lid connected to the cylindrical wall by a hinge. A knob and cross crown the lid. Against the blue enamel background, engraved and gilded flower vines alternate with engraved and punched, coat of arms-like image fields with enamel decoration. The six symbols on the wall and the four on the lid vary: they show, for example, a three-towered castle in white enamel, three stylized flowers in red enamel between turquoise, pointed elements, three heraldic lilies in red enamel, or a blue, white, and red enameled wing. The coats of arms are fictional, even though the heraldic lily (fleur-de-lys) and the three-towered castle have been popular in the coats of arms of the kingdoms of France and Castile since the marriage of King Louis VIII (1187–1226) to Blanche of Castile (1188–1252) in 1200. It may seem surprising that fictional coats of arms were chosen for a liturgical object such as this pyxis. However, in the Middle Ages, the boundaries between the religious and secular spheres were often blurred.