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.
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.
Oval cameo of glass paste, with a representation of St Dimitrios. Period: Middle Byzantine; circa: 12th c. Materials: glass. Made in: Constantinople. 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.
Gold Coin, Ruler: Maurice Tiberius; Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 582-602; Minted in: Ravenna. 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).
Bracelet with Panthers, Period: Early Byzantine, Found in Hadra near Alexandria (Egypt). Material: gold. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
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.
Tapestry fragment Egyptian (Coptic), Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 5th-6th century A.D. Material: silk. 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.
Necklace; Materials: Glass and Amber Beads, mall bone cross and a blue faience figure of Bes. Period: 5thc.-6thc, Early Byzantine. Found: Qaw el-Kebir, Upper Egypt. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year.
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.
Necklace with Pendant of Aphrodite Anadyomene, Period: Early Byzantine, circa early 7th Century. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
The Antioch Chalice, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 500–550, Made in Antioch or Kaper Koraon, Materials: Silver, silver-gilt. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300. 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.
Enkolpion with Enthroned Virgin, Nativity, Adoration and Baptism, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: Last quarter 6th century (ca. 583). Materials: gold. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Gold Finger Ring; Early Byzantine. Period: 7thC – Early Byzantine. Excavated/Findspot: Smyrna (Asia, Turkey, Aegean Region, Anatolia (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).
Spherical Small Container (pyxis) with Representations of Christ, Virgin and two Archangels. Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 6th–7th century A.D. Dimensions: Height x diameter: 7 x 9 cm (2 3/4 x 3 9/16 in.). Materials: Silver with gilding. This gilded silver pyxis of round kind was a container for antiques or scent made use of in Early Byzantine church ceremonies. The 4 figures created in repousse method reveal a bearded Christ offering a true blessing, the Virgin holding a symbol symbolic of her duties as Mother of God (Theotokos), as well as 2 angels worn lengthy sleeved chitons with segmenta on their shoulders and also hems. The cover is shed however could have had a dedicatory inscription.
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.
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).
Portrait of an official, Period: Early Byzantine Period, circa: Late 5th–early 6th century A.D. Dimensions: Height: 21 cm (8 1/4 in.). Material: Marble. Found: Göktepe near Aphrodisias Ancient City, Anatolia (Modern Turkey). 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.
Gold Earring; semi-circular; with U-shaped loop to which is attached a similarly shaped thin plate of gold. Period: Middle Byzantine; 11thc.-12thc.; Found/Acquired: Syria. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year.
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.
Hanging with Hestia Polyolbus, Period: Early Byzantine, First half of 6th Century. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Medallion with the Virgin from an Icon Frame. Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 1100, Made in Constantinople, Materials: Gold, silver, and enamel worked in cloisonné. 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.
Solidus of Constans II, Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 661–663. Minted in: Constantinople, Material: Gold. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 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.