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.
Plate with a Tigress Attacking an Ibex, Eastern Mediterranean, Material: Silver. Period: Early Byzantine circa: A.D. 450–525. 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.
Steelyard weight in the form of a bust of an empress, Period: Early Byzantine Period, circa: 5th century A.D. Material: Bronze. 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.
Plate of a buckle or brooch; gold; Period: 4th c., Late Roman/Early Byzantine. 3 hefty studs at the back, as well as tubes for a joint at one side. In the centrea a little nielloed medallion with a hefty pearled border consisting of the bust of a beardless nimbed emperor wearing a chlamys with big fibula. Over and also below are 3 almond-shaped lobes, each center one embossed to simulate a leaf. Found Place: Anatolia, 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).
Octagonal Marriage Ring with Holy Site Scenes, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 7th Century. Materials: gold with niello.The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Plate with the Arming of David, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 629–630, Material: Silver, Made in Constantinople. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301. 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.
Pair of Tapestry Woven Square Dress Ornaments. Egyptian (Coptic). Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 4th–7th century A.D. Materials: Linen and wool tapestry. Dimensions: Height x width (a): 8 7/16 x 8 1/4 in. (21.5 x 21 cm).
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.
Mosaic, Two Peacocks Perch on a Fountain, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: A.D. 450–462. 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.
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).
Brooch, in the form of a dove. Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 6thc-7thc. Material: Bronze . 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.
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).
Piece of woollen coptic textile, Period: Early Byzantine. circa: 6th century-8th century. Height: 90 millimetres (max) Width: 63 millimetres (max). 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).
Gold Earring; Square; on one face a cheque of triangular groups of pellets, above an animal’s head. Period: Early Byzantine (7thC-8thC ) Found/Acquired: Hims, Syria. 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).
Counterpoise weight, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 6th c. Material: Bronze. 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 Curtain, Period: Early Byzantine; circa: 5th century. Made in: Egypt, Materials: tabby weave, inwoven tapestry ornament; wool and linen. Dimensions: 23.2 x 22.9 cm (9 1/8 x 9 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.
Solidus of Constantius II (333–361). Material: Gold. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
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.
Ivory Panel, Period: Early Byzantine, circa: 6th c. Made in: Syria. Dimensions: Height: 16.3 centimetres Width: 8.1 centimetres Depth: 1 centimetres Weight: 128 grammes. Carved in relief with a depiction of The Baptism: young Christ standing full face up to waist in water; to left, St John the Baptist stands leaning forward upon a rock, one hand resting upon Christ’s head. 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: Pearls, Emeralds, Sapphires, Gold and Gems. 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.
Panel with St. Peter or St. Paul, Period: Early Byzantine circa: 500s, Made in Byzantine Egypt, Materials: Ivory. Dimensions: 9 1/8 x 4 1/8 x 5/16 in. (23.1 x 10.5 x 0.8 cm). On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300. 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.