Earrings (pair), Period: Early Byzantine circa: 600s. Materials: gold. 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.
Necklace, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 6th century. Made in Constantinople. Material: gold. Technique: carving, engraving. Dimensions: Lenght 27 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.
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.
Key, Materials: Bronze. Made in: Constantinople. Period: Early Byzantine (?). 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.
Pendant; material: gold; hollow box building; in the form of a bent leaf; obverse chased and convex marked, butt-soldered to a simple opposite; suspension loophole of triple-ribbed strip, the angle in between the loophole and the obverse masked by a brief length of the very same strip. Height: 32.2 millimetres Width: 15.5 millimetres. Period: Early Byzantine. 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).
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.
Solidus of Justinian I, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 552–565 A.D. Minted in: Ravenna, 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.
Necklace; Cross pendant; Period: Early Byzantine; 5thc.-6thc.; Materials: glass, amber, amethyst and carnelian beads. Found: Qaw el-Kebir, Egypt, Upper Egypt. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year.
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).
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 Earring, Materials: Gold filigree with cloisonné enamel. Period: Middle Byzantine circa: 1000-1100. Dimensions: 2.3 x 2.6 cm (7/8 x 1 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.
Polycandelon in the form of a pierced disk with openwork cross and nine circular perforations; Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 6thc.-7thc. Materials: copper alloy. Dimensions: Diameter: 279 millimetresHeight: 757 millimetres (suspended)Weight: 1.626 kilograms. 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).
Ring of Michael Attaleiates, Period: Middle Byzantine, Date: Before 1080. 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.
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.
Fragmentary Bracelet with Medallion of Emperor in a Chariot, Period: Early Byzantine, 6th century, Material: gold Found: Said to have been found at Latakia, Syria in 1948. 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).
Icon Frame, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: Mid-11th century. Size: 22 x 20 (8.7 x 7.9). Materials: enamel on gilt silver. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
This medallion of Christ is from a group of twelve that once surrounded an icon of the archangel Gabriel. Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: ca. 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.
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: 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.