Pectoral cross with busts of Jesus Christ and saints, silver-gilt. On the reverse, the engraved inscription refers to its owner: Epiphanios. Period: Middle Byzantine; circa: 11th 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.
Silver Chalice, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 6th century A.D. Dimensions: Height (max.): 18 cm. (7 1/16 in.); Width (max. at handles): 26.6 cm (10 1/2 in.); Width (bowl): 16 cm (6 5/16 in.).
The cup has actually ring handles topped by flat plates of lunate kind with trapezoidal forecasts in the line of the handles. An inscribed band in between the manages is flanked by a gilded profiled rim (above) and a gilded profiled band listed below. The body is hemispherical. The high foot includes a concave, then round stem and a cone-shaped assistance with broad, horizontal flange listed below. The niello-inlaid engraving (in Greek uppercase) equates: “Sarah hoped and made [this] using to the First Martyr” (Saint Stephen). Likewise (each side) is a gilded Christogram made up of a chi and rho (the very first 2 letters of Christ’s name in Greek) flanked by alpha and Omega. These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, symbolizing that Christ is the beginning and end of all things. Locations of the bowl are completed; foot is corrected and repaired.
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.
Base for a Cross, Period: Middle Byzantine circa: 11th century. Made in Constantinople. Materials: Copper alloy, cast, filed, reamed, and scraped. Dimensions: Overall: 5 x 1 15/16 x 2 1/16 in. (12.7 x 4.9 x 5.2 cm); Top (Diameter-Top exterior): 1 1/16in. (2.7cm). 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.
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.
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.
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.
Triptych Showing the Forty Martyrs, Period: Middle Byzantine; circa: Late 11th – early 12th century. Materials: ivory and silver (frame). Technique: carved and painted. Dimensions: 18,5×24,2 cm. The collection of the State Hermitage includes over 3 million works of art and world culture artefacts. It contains paintings, graphic works, sculptures, works of applied art, archaeological artefacts and numismatic objects. The Hermitage is considered to have been founded in 1764, when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of works from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. The museum celebrates the anniversary of its founding each year on 7 December, St. Catherine’s Day. Opening Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: 10.30-18.00 Wednesday, Friday: 10.30-21.00 Closed: Monday.
Loop earring; Materials: silver; Period: Middle Byzantine: 10thc-11thc. Length: 51 millimetres Weight: 12.2 grammes. 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).
Enkolpion with the Crucifixion (front) and Saints Theodore and George (back), silver gilt and cloisoné enamel, Period: Middle Byzantine, 1080-1120. Constantinople. 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.
Book Cover with a Cross Flanked by Cypress Trees, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: Mid 6th Century. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Psalter and New Testament, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa. 1084 A.D. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Medallion with Saint George from an Icon Frame, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 1100, Made in Constantinople, Materials: Gold, silver, and enamel worked in cloisonné. 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.
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.
Silver Dish; Period: Early Byzantine. 6th.c.(late) on a shallow foot; the centre decorated with Eros astride a ketos (sea monster) which he attacks with a trident. Found/Acquired: Anatolia, Modern 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).
Bowl with Hunting Scene, Period: Early Byzantine, 5th Century A.D. Material: silver. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Plate with Cross and Greek Inscription ‘Hope of God’, Period: Early Byzantine, 7th century A.D. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Gold coin. Ruler: Nicephorus I, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 802-811. Minted in: Italy (southern), Weight: 4.173 grammes. 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).
Hinged Closure with Christ and the Virgin, Period: Middle Byzantine. Date: Second half 10th to early 11th century. Materials: enamel on gold. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Evangelist Mark, Period: Middle Byzantine, ca. 1063. 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).
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.