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.
Gold Earring; Period: Early Byzantine; consisting of a tower-like ornament attached to a gold chain; circa: 5thC-6thC, Early Byzantine. Found: Kalymnos, Greece. 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).
Cross, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 1100, Made in Constantinople, Materials: Cloisonne enamel (red and blue). Dimensions: 15/16 x 7/8 x 1/8 in. (2.36 x 2.07 x 0.31 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.
Enkolpion with Enthroned Virgin, Nativity, Adoration; and Baptism. Period: Early Byzantine 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
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.
Busts of Two Emperors, Period: Roman, Circa: Late 3rd-early 4th century, Material: Chalcedony on gold. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Ring in openwork filigree, Period: Early Byzantine circa (A.D. 550–650). Materials: Gold. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Cross, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 6th c. Made in: Constantinople. Material: gold. Dimensions: 5х3 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.
Icon with St John the Baptist, Icon painted in egg tempera with gold leaf on a wood panel surfaced with gesso and linen; the panel has a raised border. Period: Late Byzantine, 1300 (circa), Made in: Constantinople (Modern Istanbul, Turkey). Dimensions: Height: 251 millimetresWidth: 202 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).
Earring with Emerald and Sapphire, Period: Early Byzantine circa: early 5th century. Size: 6.5 (2.6). Material: gold and gems. 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.
Medallion with Saint Paul from an Icon Frame, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa:ca. 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.
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.
Icon, St John the Baptist. Period: Late Byzantine; circa: Early 14th century. Place: Byzantium, Athos. Technique: tempera on panel lined with canvas. Dimensions: 66x39x2,2 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.
Necklace. Materials: Pearls, Sapphires, Gold, Gems and Plasma. 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.
Reliquary Cross with the Crucifixion, Period: Late Byzantine, circa: Late 12th-early 13th 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.
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.
Pair of Earrings. Materials: Pearls, Sapphires, Gold, Gems and Gold Globules. 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.
Saint Luke, Manuscript, Period: Late Byzantine circa: early 13th century. Place: Nicomedia (Modern Izmit, Anatolia, Turkey) Materials: Tempera colors and gold leaf on parchment. Dimensions: Leaf: 20.6 × 14.9 cm (8 1/8 × 5 7/8 in.) Museum Description: “Before the Gospel of Saint Luke, the illuminator placed a portrait of the evangelist. Seated in an elaborate throne with his book open on his knees, Luke writes his Gospel, his account of Jesus’ life and teachings. The tradition of including author portraits in manuscripts began in antiquity; by the thirteenth century, the inclusion of portraits of the evangelists in Gospel books had become quite common. ”
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.