Pendant Icon with the Virgin "Dexiokratousa"

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.

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.

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.

Relief icon; rectangular bronze plaque cast in low relief with full-length Hodegetria flanked by the Archangel Michael and St Theodore, each wearing a girdled tunic beneath a chlamys with decorated tablion; the figures are identified by intaglio inscriptions; the whole is surrounded by a raised border with a running vine scroll; traces of solder at sides and back. Period: Middle 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).

Fragment of a Tunic, Period: Middle Byzantine circa: first half of 7th century, Made in: Egypt. Materials: tabby weave with inwoven tapestry ornament, linen and wool. Overall: 26.1 x 74.3 cm (10 1/4 x 29 1/4 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.

Icon with Christ Pantokrator, Period: 11th–12th century, Middle Byzantine. Material: Ivory. Dimensions: 3 13/16 x 3 x 3/16 in. (9.7 x 7.6 x 0.4 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.

Gold coin, Ruler: Michael II the Amorian, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 820-829, Minted in: Italy. 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.

Textile Fragment, Materials: silk and cotton. Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 8thc-9thc. Rectangular panel of woven silk sen onto a larger cotton cloth of irregular, roughly rectangular shape; two hunters on horseback, in a round frame with floral ornament. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year.

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).

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.

Molivdovul. Manuel I Comnenus, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 1143-1180. Material: lead. 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.

Two Thirds of Miliarensis, Minted in Constantinople. Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 1042-1055. Ruler: Constantine IX Monomachos. Material: silver. 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.

Paten with Cross and Inscription, 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.

Double-Sided Pendant Icon with the Virgin and Christ Pantokrator, Period: Middle Byzantine, circa: 1100. Made in Constantinople. Materials: Gold, cloisonné enamel. 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.

Vollschmelz medallion (9th Century – Middle Byzantine Period). Gold cloisonné; bust of St. Nicholas, his right hand raised in benediction, a book in his left; inscription. 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).

Oval cameo of glass paste, with a representation of St Dimitrios. Period: Middle Byzantine; circa: 12th c. Materials: glass. Made in: Constantinople.  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.

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.

Pectoral cross with busts of Jesus Christ and saints, silver-gilt. On the reverse, the engraved inscription refers to its owner: Epiphanios. Period: Middle Byzantine; circa: 11th c. 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 Bucket, Period: Early Byzantine circa: 600s. Made in Tirana, Modern Albania. (Found in Vrap) Material: Silver. 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.