Button, Early Byzantine

Pair of Kolti with Sirens, Period: Middle Byzantine Period, ca. 843-1204 AD. Late 11th-12th Century. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.

Pectoral Cross. Period: Middle Byzantine; circa: 900s. Made in: Constantinople. Materials: gold, gilt-silver, and cloisonné enamel. Overall: h. 12.4 cm (4 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.

Slipper; leather; with pointed toe and thick sole with gilt borders on the upper part and the figure of an animal. Culture: Coptic. Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 4thC-6thC; Made in: Egypt. Length: 262 millimetres. 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).

The Attarouthi Treasure, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 500-650s. Made in Attarouthi, Syria. Materials: Silver, silver-gilt. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300.

These well-wrought liturgical items– chalices, censers, a filter, and also a depiction of the dove of the Holy Spirit– were amongst the belongings of a Christian church in the wealthy seller city of Attarouthi in Syria, after that among the wealthiest lands of the Byzantine Empire. The chalices, censers, and also filter were made use of for the Divine Liturgy, or Eucharist, where Christians take consecrated wine and bread in ceremony of the Last Supper and also Christ’s death. According to their inscriptions, written in Greek with several spelling variants, many of the objects were offerings of local citizens to the major church of the town, which was dedicated to Saint Stephen, and to a smaller church dedicated to Saint John (probably Saint John the Forerunner [the Baptist]).  In the very early 7th century Syria dropped initially to the Sasanian Persians and afterwards to the militaries of Islam. These works were most likely hidden in haste in a safety container at some minute when the Byzantine military was pulling away from strikes on the area.

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.

Lamp for a Stand, Period: Early Byzantine circa: 5thC-7thC. Found/Acquired: Damanhûr, Nile Delta. Materials: Bronze. 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).

Chain with Pendant and Two Crosses, Materials: Gold with enamel and glass. Period: Early Byzantine, 500’s. 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.

Censer; Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 6thc.-7thc.; Found: Syria. Materials: copper alloy. Dimensions: Diameter: 79 millimetresLength: 475 millimetres (suspension unit)Height: 61 millimetres.  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).

Solidus of Constantine I (306–337), Material: Gold.  The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.

Personal gold ornament; Period: Early Byzantine Period; circa: 6thC-7thC. Length: 8 millimetres, Width: 7 millimetres. 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.

Paten with Christogram and Repousse Border, 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.

Chalice, Period: Early Byzantine,  ca. 527 – 565 A.D. Materials: silver and niello. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.

Earrings (pair), Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 600s; Materials: gold, pearls, glass, and emeralds. 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.

Fragment of a Curtain, Period: Early Byzantine circa: 500s. Made in: Egypt, Materials: tabby weave, inwoven tapestry ornament; wool and linen, Overall: 38 x 52.3 cm (14 15/16 x 20 9/16 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.

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.

Earring; Period: Middle Byzantine circa: 10thC-12thC. 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).

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.

Byzantine Pectoral Cross (front and back), Period: Late Byzantine circa: 1200–1400 A.D. , Benaki Museum, Athens. Museum Description: “Gold pectoral in the form of a Resurrection cross with double horizontal arms set with lapis lazuli. The owner’s name, Georgios Varagkopoulos, is inscribed on the back together with his title Sevastos (Augustus), which reflects his high social standing and explains the luxurious quality of the materials and the fine workmanship. “

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.

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.

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).