The Museum of Byzantine Culture is a museum in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece, which opened in 1994.
Collections
The collection of the museum contains works from the 2nd to the 20th century. They originate mainly from collections, legacies, seizures, donations or were procured with private or state aid. Most of the collection consists of coins, seals and smaller artifacts, followed by sculptures and icons. They come from Thessaloniki and Macedonia, from churches, private houses and cemeteries.
The works of iconic paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries are of high artistic value. But also the rare textiles of the early Byzantine period (loans from the Benaki Museum), or tomb-works and mosaics are of particular importance. Selected artifacts are temporarily handed over to other museums at home and abroad as hiking exhibitions.
The collection includes:
Books and manuscripts
The collection includes 27 Greek books and manuscripts. The oldest are from the early Christian period; most were written on parchment. Of particular interest are some pages of the Qur‘an and an Ottoman manuscript.
Wooden icons
More than 1,000 individual works comprise the storage space of the museum; including the 442 icons that were sent to Athens during the First World War. In 1987, the number of icons was considerably increased by accessing 400 icons from the estate of Mr. Oikonopuolos. The collection is constantly being extended, not least by private donations and legacies. The museum houses icons from the 12th century to the 20th century and comes from the areas where Greeks lived under Venetian or Ottoman rule. The works are of different origin, they come from islands, from Northern Greece or Constantinople.
Miniature
Over 7,000 objects of this group were found in Thessaloniki and further Macedonia. Almost all were discovered in organized excavations; only a few come from donations or were confiscated. They date from the late Roman period, from the Byzantine period to the time of Ottoman rule. Jewelry from gold, silver, glass and bone are represented as well as ecclesiastical objects. Furthermore, tools made of different materials are kept.
Fabrics
The existing textiles are from the 4th century to the 19th century and thus represent the entire Byzantine and post-Byzantine era. The woolen and linen tunics from Egypt are permanent loans of the Benaki Museum from Athens.
Coins
The approximately 30,000 coins of the museum were discovered in Thessaloniki and further Macedonia. They date from the late Roman period to modern times. The predominant part are bronze coins. Few are made of silver, some more are of gold. In addition to individual finds, the coins mainly come from larger hoards, which were probably created by their owners for emergency periods.
Seals
100 seals are in the possession of the Museum of Byzantine Culture. They were once used to verify documents. They are considered important historical sources to understand the administrative Byzantine system and the church hierarchy. The most important seals are of Tiberius II (698-705), Constantine VII (913-959), the patriarchs Photios (858-886) and Michael Keroularios (1043-1059).
Mosaics
The collection includes 70 mosaics that adorn the walls and floors of churches, private houses and public buildings. Most of them are from the excavation of Thessaloniki from the 4th to the 7th century. During this period, Thessaloniki was the center of mosaic art in the region. The mosaics are made of different materials. In addition to stones, marble and glass, leaf gold was also used. They depicted saints, animals, plants and geometrical shapes.
Wall paintings
About 200 wall paintings from the 3rd to the 20th century are owned by the museum. Among them are the most beautiful tomb paintings of Greece. The most popular motifs from the Greek and Roman epoch are garlands, wreaths and ribbons. Wall paintings can be found in almost all rooms of the permanent exhibition.
Sculptures
The approx. 2,000 sculptures are from the period from the 2nd / 3rd century to the 17th century. 120 sculptures are permanently exhibited in the museum. Almost all were found in Thessaloniki and the surrounding area; most of them are architectural in nature, such as capitals in the Ionic and Corinthian style. Few sculptures are preserved from the period from the 7th to the 9th century, the so-called „dark times“. From the 9th to the 12th century, the artists‘ activities increased significantly. From this time came marble images with ecclesiastical motifs. The few, discovered sculptures from the late Byzantine period point to the decline of the empire, which fell to the Franks in 1204 and to the Ottomans in 1453.
Latest projects
They are predominantly modern paintings by Greek artists, inspired by the early Christian, Byzantine spirit. In addition to oil paintings are prints and abstract paintings. About 50 works are copies of ancient tomb paintings, mosaics and sculptures.
Early printed books
The collection of the museum consists of 22 books, mostly from the 19th and 20th century. The works are written in different languages and deal with Christian themes. The bindings of some books are valuable and elaborate. In addition to velvety envelopes one finds silver-framed covers, which depict Christian scenes or the crucifix.
