Ivory Plaque with Enthroned Mother of God, (“The Stroganoff Ivory”), Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 950-1025. Material: ivory. 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.
Gold coin; Ruler: Constantine V Copronymus; Leo III, Byzantine Emperor; Period: Middle Byzantine; circa: 737-741; Minted in: Constantinople. Weight: 4.4 grammes Diameter: 19 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).
Dish of brown, fine-grained clay covered with a white slip. Period: Middle Byzantine; circa: Late 12th-early 13th c. The decoration is in champlevé, while the individual details are incised. A large standing bird is pictured between two bird-shaped animals resembling griffons but without wings. Dimensions: H. 0.07, Diam. of rim 0.235, Diam. of base 0.08 m. On the ground tufted plants. Yellow, very good quality glaze covers the inner surface and the edge of the rim on the outside. 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.
Seal, Theodore Kastamonites, Sebastos. The two Saints Theodore standing with their hands upraised towards the manus Dei above. Between them are their spears and a shield embossed with a patriarchal cross. This remarkable seal may well have belonged to Theodore Kastamonites, the maternal uncle of the emperor Isaac II Angelos (1185–1195, 1203–1204), who tended to the internal affairs of the empire during his nephew’s first reign. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Pair of earrings, Period: Middle Byzantine (10thC-11thC). Material: silver. Diameter: 3.4 centimetres (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).
Diptych Showing Twelve Festive Scenes, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: Late 10th century. Material: ivory. Dimensions: 26,4×13,3 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.
Gold coin; Ruler: Manuel I Comnenus, Byzantine emperor; circa: 1143-1180; Minted in: Constantinople. Weight: 4.484 grammes. 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 of Romanos II and Basil II, Period: Middle Byzantine, Date: 960-963. Materials: silver and niello. Purchased by Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss from George Zacos (dealer) Istanbul, July 24th, 1953; Gift of Milderd and Robert Woods Bliss to Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC, 1953; 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.
Tunic from Palermo; Blue and red velvet, gold embroidery, gold appliqués with cloisonné enamel and filligree, pearls; l. 141,5 cm, 343 cm wide at hem. Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 2nd quarter of the 12th century. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. The Kunsthistorisches Museum was built in 1891 near the Imperial Palace to house the extensive collections of the imperial family. With its vast array of eminent works and the largest Bruegel collection in the world, it is considered one of the most eminent museums in the world. Opening hours June to August Daily, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Thu, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. September to May Tue – Sun, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Thu, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Gold coin; Ruler: Manuel I Comnenus, Byzantine emperor; Period: Middle Byzantine; circa: 1143-1180; Minted in Constantinople. 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.
Ring of Leontios, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 1000, Materials: Gold, niello, Inscribed: “Lord help Leontius, Patrician and Count of imperial Obsikion guarded by God”. The ring came from Leontios of the district of Opsikion, in exactly what is currently northwestern Turkey. Patrikios as well as komes were Roman titles that moved in definition throughout the Byzantine period; it promises that Leontios was the guv of the district or an upper-level general. 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.
Gold Earring; semi-circular; with U-shaped loop to which is attached a similarly shaped thin plate of gold. Period: Middle Byzantine; 11thc.-12thc.; Found/Acquired: Syria. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year.
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.
Hinged Closure with Christ and the Virgin, Period: Middle Byzantine. Date: Second half 10th to early 11th 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.
Pair of Kolti with Sirens, Period: Middle Byzantine Period, ca. 843-1204 AD. Late 11th-12th Century. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
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.
Gold Goblet with Personifications of Cyprus, Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 700s. Culture: Avar or Byzantine, Materials: Gold. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301.
Museum description :“This goblet is decorated with female personifications of four major ecclesiastical centers in the Byzantine world. The awkwardly written identifications suggest that this goblet was an Avar attempt to imitate a Byzantine chalice.” 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.
Relief based on story of Achilles receiving his armor on the island of Skyros. Period: Early Byzantine, Material: Ivory. 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.
Earring, Period: Middle Byzantine circa: 11thc. Height: 1 inches. Material: 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).