Double-sided circular jewellery attachment. Christ Pantokrator is depicted on one side and the Virgin Orans on the other side. Period: Late Byzantine; circa: early 12th century. Dimensions: 0,026 m. 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.
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).
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.
Gold Earring, Period: Middle Byzantine. circa: 12thc. Length: 1.24 inches. 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).
Veil Embroidered with Gold Thread. Period: Late Byzantine; circa: end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th c. A liturgical article used for covering sacred vessels on an altar. It depicts Jesus in a portrayal of the Communion of the Apostles, symbolic of the sacrament of Holy Communion. One of the rare extant Byzantine embroideries. Made in: Constantinople. Dimensions: 0.52×0.65 m.
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.
Pendant Cross with Birds and Zoe-Phos, Period: Early Byzantine, circa Late 6th Century. Materials: filigree 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.
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.
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.
Icon of St George, Period: Late Byzantine, circa: 13th century. Material: soapstone. Dimensions: 6,6 x 7,4 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.
Medallion with Saint Luke from an Icon Frame, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: ca. 1100, Made in Constantinople, Materials: Gold, silver, and enamel worked in cloisonné, Dimensions: Diam: 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm) Mount: 20 1/2 x 15 x 7/8 in. (52.1 x 38.1 x 2.2 cm), 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.
Earring; Period: Middle Byzantine; 11thc.-12thc. Material: gold. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year.
The Last Supper, Period: Late Byzantine; circa: 13th century, Place: Nicaea, Modern Turkey. (created) Dimensions: Leaf: 20.6 × 14.9 cm (8 1/8 × 5 7/8 in.).
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.
Relief icon; Period: Late Byzantine, circa: 14-15th c. carved white steatite in the shape of half an oval; St George and the dragon with name inscribed. Length: 2 centimetres Width: 1.6 centimetres. 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 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.
Medallion with Saint John the Evangelist 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.
Constantine Xeros, Sebastos. Period: Late Byzantine, 12th.c. second half. Translation: May you, all-holy Virgin, be the keeper and seal of the correspondence of the sebastos Constantine Xeros. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Cameo; opaque red; Period: Late Byzantine circa: 13 thc. Materials: glass. Made in: Venice. The Crucifixion with St John and St Mary and inscription, in relief. 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.
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.
Saint John the Evangelist Dictating, Manuscript, Period: Late Byzantine; circa: 1200 to 1225. Place: Nicomedia (Modern Izmit, Turkey) Materials: Tempera colors and gold leaf on parchment. Dimensions: Leaf: 20.6 × 14.9 cm (8 1/8 × 5 7/8 in.) 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.