Fragment with Running Figure

Pendant Cross, Period: Early Byzantine (7thc.) Height: 55.8 millimetres Width: 37.2 millimetres Depth: 7 millimetres Weight: 7.27 grammes. 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).

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.

Solidus of Constans II, Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 661–663. Minted in: Constantinople, 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.

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.

Gold Signet-Ring,  plain hoop and applied oval bezel depicts bust of Christ(?).  Period: Late Roman – Early Byzantine. 5thC-6thC. Found/Acquired: Rome. 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 with cross-shaped quatrefoil calyx bezel. Materials: gold. Period: Early Byzantine; circa:  6th-7th century.  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 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).

Reliquary of St. Zacharias, Period: Early Byzantine,  6th Century, Material: 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.

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).

Fragment of a Tunic, Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 5th – 7th century; Materials: tapestry weave; wool and linen. 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.

Lamp and Stand, Period: Early Byzantine, 4th century. Materials: Silver. 9.2 x 16 x 7 cm (3 9/16 x 6 1/4 x 2 3/4 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.

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.

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).

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.

Altar Cloth or Podea. Period: Late Byzantine, circa: late 14th century. Made in: probably Greece or Constantinople. Materials: Silk, embroidery. Dimensions: 58 1/2 x 51 1/8 in. (148.6 x 129.9 cm).

Museum Description: “The double-headed eagle became the primary symbol of the state during the late Byzantine centuries and was also adopted for liturgical use. This huge eagle was probably used as an altar cloth or as a podea, a skirt hung beneath an icon. The inscription, which connects the owner with distinguished imperial dynasties, exaggerated the claims of a pretender to the patriarchal throne.”

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. Materials: Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire,  Gold and gems. Period: Early Byzantine, circa: early 5th century. 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.

Ring Decorated with a Monogram, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 7th century. Found: Pereshchepina Complex. near Poltava, the Village of Malaya Pereshchepina. Materials: gold. Technique: cast, polished, soldered and engraved. 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.

Gold Earring; Period: Early Byzantine (6thc-7thc), one of a pair crescent-shaped loop. Found: Lambousa (Cyprus). British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year.

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.

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.