Almond-Shaped Pendant, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 400-600. Materials: gold, lapis lazuli, garnet, and glass. The Cleveland Art Museum Hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. Closed Mondays.
Bronze Signet Ring, Period: Early Byzantine, high circular bezel rudely engraved in intaglio with standing figure. Findspot: Smyrna, Anatolia. (Modern: Izmir, Turkey) British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year. Fast facts about the British Museum: Founded: 1753, Collection size: 8 million objects, Oldest object in the collection: Stone chopping tool (nearly 2 million years old).
Gold coin of Constantine IV; Period: Early Byzantine Period; Date: 654-685; Minted in Rome. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year. Fast facts about the British Museum: Founded: 1753, Collection size: 8 million objects, Oldest object in the collection: Stone chopping tool (nearly 2 million years old).
Gold necklace with sapphires, amethysts, emeralds and pearls. Period: Early Byzantine. Place/Findspot: Antinoë in Egypt. The Ravenna mosaics portray this kind of precious jewelry, widespread during Early Christian times, being worn by ladies of the imperial court of Theodora.
The Benaki Museum of Greek Culture is housed in one of the most beautiful neoclassical-style buildings in Athens, near the National Garden and the Hellenic Parliament. It was converted into a museum in order to shelter the collections of Antonis Benakis and was donated to the Greek nation by himself and his three sisters, Alexandra, Penelope and Argine. Following its most recent refurbishment (1989–2000), the building houses a unique exhibition on Greek culture arranged diachronically from prehistory to the 20th century.
Fragment of a Floor Mosaic with a Personification of Ktisis, Period: Early Byzantine circa: 500–550, with modern restoration. Materials: Marble and glass. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) is one of the world’s largest and finest art museums. Its collection includes more than two million works of art spanning five thousand years of world culture, from prehistory to the present and from every part of the globe. Public Hours: 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Open seven days a week.
Calyx (Chalice), Period: Middle Byzantine, 900s-1000s. Blood jasper (heliotrope) with gilt-copper mounts. The Cleveland Art Museum Hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. Closed Mondays.
Pendant; Material: gold. Period: Late Roman; Early Byzantine; (5thc.) Found: Medinet el-Faiyum, Egypt. Open-work; composed of central setting with a stone (now missing), around which are eight small medallions, with a pearl in the middle of each. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year.
Paten with Cross and Inscription, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: Mid 6th Century. Materials: silver, gilding and niello. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Tapestry panel: Head of a man. Coptic, Egypt. Period: Early Byzantine circa: 4th-5th century A.D. Dimensions: 23.5 x 20 cm (9 1/4 x 7 7/8 in.); Legacy dimension: 23.5 x 20.0 cm. Materials: Wool. The MFA is open 7 days a week. Monday and Tuesday 10 am–5 pm, Wednesday–Friday 10 am–10 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am–5 pm.
The Fieschi Morgan Staurotheke, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: early 9th century, Made in Constantinople, Materials: Gilded silver, gold, enamel worked in cloisonné, and niello. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 303. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) is one of the world’s largest and finest art museums. Its collection includes more than two million works of art spanning five thousand years of world culture, from prehistory to the present and from every part of the globe. Public Hours: 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Open seven days a week.
Leaf-shaped pendant in opus interrasile embossed and chased with a foliate design. Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 7thc. Materials: gold. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year. Fast facts about the British Museum: Founded: 1753, Collection size: 8 million objects, Oldest object in the collection: Stone chopping tool (nearly 2 million years old).
Signet Ring of John, Imperial Spatharios, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 10th century, Materials: Gold, niello. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300 . Museum Description: “The title spatharios, Sword-Bearer, was originally an honor reserved for the imperial bodyguard. By the middle Byzantine period, it had become an honorific title only, indicating Ioannis’s respectable status.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) is one of the world’s largest and finest art museums. Its collection includes more than two million works of art spanning five thousand years of world culture, from prehistory to the present and from every part of the globe. Public Hours: 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Open seven days a week.
Busts of Two Emperors, Period: Roman, Circa: Late 3rd-early 4th century, Material: Chalcedony on gold. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Reliquary Cross; Materials: Cloisonné Enamel and Gold, Period: Middle Byzantine (10thc.) Made in: Constantinople. Museum Description: “Decorated with a standing figure of the Virgin, wearing chiton and maphorion, flanked by busts of St Basil and St Gregory Thaumaturgus; cylindrical gold chain connected to pendant; part of chain in another style.” British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year. Fast facts about the British Museum: Founded: 1753, Collection size: 8 million objects, Oldest object in the collection: Stone chopping tool (nearly 2 million years old).
Crescent-Shaped Pendant, Period: Middle Byzantine; circa: 11th century. Materials: gold filigree with cloisonné enamel. Dimensions: 3 x 3.2 cm (1 3/16 x 1 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Art Museum Hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. Closed Mondays.
Pair of Earrings. Materials: Pearls, Emeralds, Sapphires, Gold and Gems. Period: Early Byzantine, circa: early 5th century. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Bracelet with Jewelled Clasp, Period: Early Byzantine, Date: -circa-Second half 4th Century (possibly 360-80). Materials: gold and gems. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Relief plaque icon, depicting the Crucifixion with full-length figures of the Virgin on the left and St John on the right, Late Byzantine (13 thc). Materials: Steatite – Gold.
Quantity of pearl, tourmaline, glass, coral and bronze beads, once attached no doubt to cloth. Period: Early Byzantine circa: 6-7th century. Made in/Findspot: Constantinople. In the Istanbul Archaeological Museum collections, there are rich and very important works of art belonging to various civilizations from the regions from Africa to Balkans , from Anatolia and Mesopotamia to Arab Peninsula and Afghanistan that were in the borders of the Ottoman Empire.
Ring in openwork filigree, Period: Early Byzantine circa (A.D. 550–650). Materials: Gold. The MFA is open 7 days a week. Monday and Tuesday 10 am–5 pm, Wednesday–Friday 10 am–10 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am–5 pm.
Bracelet, Period: Late Roman circa: 379 – 395 A.D. Medium: Gold. Dimensions: 1.4 × 6.3 cm (9/16 × 2 1/2 in.) Museum Description: “A simple gold band with plain flanged edges forms this openwork bracelet. A vegetal scroll weaves across the surface of the band, into which hunting scenes are inserted. On one side a hound chases a stag, while on the other a hound pursues a hare. ”
The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles houses European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and photography from its beginnings to the present, gathered internationally.