Casket (decorative box)

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A casket^[1] is a decorative box or container that is usually smaller than a chest and is typically decorated. In recent centuries they are often used as boxes for jewelry, but in earlier periods they were also used for keeping important documents and many other purposes.^[2] Many ancient caskets are reliquaries, for both Buddhist and Christian relics.

A tall round casket is often called a pyxis, after a shape in Ancient Greek pottery; these were popular in Islamic art, often made from a section of the ivory tusk of an elephant.

The term "casket" overlaps with strongbox (or strong box), a heavily-made box for storing or transporting coin and other valuables. These include more metal, in bands or as the main material, and are functional rather than decorative. Though caskets are often regarded as boxes for jewelry, at least until the Renaissance this was probably not a common use, as at least the most serious jewelry was kept in a strongbox.^[3]