Almond-Shaped Pendant

Pair of Earrings, Materials: Gold, Gems, Pearls and Garnets. 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.

Piece of woollen coptic textile, Period: Early Byzantine. circa: 6th century-8th century. Height: 90 millimetres (max) Width: 63 millimetres (max). 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).

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.

Chain with Two Pendants and a Cross, Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 6th century. Type of art work: Jewelry Materials: gold with granulation and a garnet.  Overall: h. 45.7 cm (18 in.); Part 1: 2.6 x 2.6 cm (1 x 1 in.); Part 2: 2.8 x 1.9 cm (1 1/16 x 3/4 in.); Part 3: 1.9 x 1.1 cm (3/4 x 7/16 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.

Cross, with a decorative quatrefoil rosette at the juncture of the arms. Materials: gold. Period: Early Byzantine; circa: Early 7th c. 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.

Plate with a Tigress Attacking an Ibex, Eastern Mediterranean, Material: Silver. Period: Early Byzantine circa: A.D. 450–525. 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.

Circular Pendant with Double Solidus of Constantine I, Period:  Early Byzantine, Materials: gold. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.

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.

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.

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.

Button, Early Byzantine circa: 500s. Materials: Rock crystal with a garnet mounted in a gold granulated star. 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.

Steelyard Weight with a Bust of a Byzantine Empress and a Hook. This Byzantine steelyard weight dates from the first half of the 5th century. The bronze hook would permit it to be suspended from and moved along a ruled steelyard to determine the weight of an item hung from the opposite end. 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.

Pendant with Portrait Intaglio, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 500s. Materials: Garnet with gold filigree setting. Size: 3.4 x 2.3 cm (1 5/16 x 7/8 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.

Benediction Cross, Period: Late Byzantine, circa: 1200s-1400s. Materials: black schist, gold, silver. 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.

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 Curtain, Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 5th century. Made in: Egypt, Materials: tabby weave, inwoven tapestry ornament; wool and linen.  Dimensions: 23.2 x 22.9 cm (9 1/8 x 9 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.

Marriage Belt, Period: Early Byzantine, circa Late 6th-to-early 7th century A.D. Material: Gold. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.

Earring, Materials: Ruby, Sapphire, Gold and Gems.  Period: Early Byzantine, early 5th century. Found in 1910 during restoration work in Piazza della Consolazione, Rome. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.

Earring with Openwork, Period: Middle Byzantine circa: 7th-9th Century. Materials: gold with a rock crystal bead. 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.

Bowl; circular medallion with half-figure of a nimbed saint, St Sergios. Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 641-651; Materials: Silver.  Production place: Made in Tarsus, Anatolia (Modern Turkey). Found: Acheripoetos Monastery, Cyprus,Nicosia. 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).