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Museum of the Byzantine Culture (Mouseio Vizantinou
Politismou) began to function in 1994. The building in
which it is housed is the work of the architect Kyriakos
Krokos, and is regarded as the finest example of public
architecture seen in Greece in recent decades. The permanent
exhibition, which occupies eleven rooms, is organised by
period and subject. The items on display come mainly from
northern Greece, and Salonika in particular, and are used to
present aspects of the art and culture of Byzantium from the
Early Byzantine (4th to 7th centuries) to the late
Post-Byzantine period (19th century). Two rooms are devoted to
the display of the private collections of Dimitrios
Ikonomopoulos and Dori Papastratou, which have been donated to
the Museum. The exhibition in the final room illuminates the
intellectual and technical processes that transform an
archaeological finding into a museum exhibit. |
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I.
The Early Christian or Early Byzantine period (4th to 7th
centuries)
1. Early Christian church.
The first room is devoted to the design and decoration of
churches during the early centuries after the triumph of
Christianity. The objects on display include sculptures, wall
mosaics, paved marble and mosaic floors, pulpits, liturgical
vessels, etc.
2. Early Christian cities and private dwellings.
The second room covers urban organization, aspects of economic
life, household crafts, residences and their equipment, dress
and cosmetics. The centre of this room is devoted to the
reception room (triclinium) of a house, with a mosaic floor
and well-preserved wall-paintings.3.
From the Elysian Fields to the Christian Paradise.
This unit investigates those elements of the ancient tradition
that survived in Christian burials, alongside the radical
changes brought about by Christianity. The room houses a
display of tombs with painted decoration, funerary
inscriptions, and objects that were buried along with the
deceased at this period, such as ceramic and glass vases,
jewellery, and so on.
II. The
Middle Byzantine period (8th to 12th centuries)
4. From the Iconoclasm to the splendour of the Macedonian and
the Komneni dynasties.
This exhibition is devoted to the period of Iconoclasm (8th
and 9th centuries), Middle Byzantine architecture, painting,
sculpture and pottery, as well as groups of objects related to
shrines of pilgrimage, the issuing of myrrh, and burial
customs.
5. The dynasties of the Byzantine emperors.
Visual and other aids are used to present the dynasties of the
Byzantine emperors, from Heraklios (610-641) to Constantine XI
Paleologue (1449-1453). Also on display are marble
inscriptions referring to emperors, and coins, which were the
main vehicle for the imperial propaganda.
6. Byzantine castles.
From the 6th to the 14th centuries a large number of castles
were erected between Constantinople and Salonika, at points
that were formerly stations along the Roman Via Egnatia. These
castles controlled passes, protected productive agricultural
land, and served defensive and residential needs.
III.
The Late Byzantine period (1204-1453)
7. The twilight of Byzantium.
This unit of the exhibition deals with the final centuries of
life of the Byzantine Empire, which are bounded by the two
captures of Constantinople - in 1204 by the armies of the
Fourth Crusade, and the final capture by the Ottoman Turks in
1453. Some outstanding examples of the art of Salonika are
displayed, as well as examples of funerary art; there is also
reference to the city's mint. The upper gallery of this room
is devoted to the output of the pottery workshops located in
Macedonia and Thrace.
8. Dori
Papastratou Collection.
Part of the unique, extensive collection of Orthodox religious
engravings (18th to early 20th enturies) once owned by Dori
Papastratou and donated to the Museum in 1993. The objects on
display are representative of all the main centres, at which
Greek engravings were printed.
9. Dimitris Ikonomopoulos Collection.
The extensive and varied collection of Dimitris Ikonomopoulos
was donated to the Museum in 1987, enriching it with an
additional of 1,460 objects. A representative number of items
from the various categories is displayed: coins, pottery,
objects of miniature art, and above all icons, which form the
bulk of the Collection.
IV.
Post-Byzantine period (1453 to 19th century)
10. "Byzantium after Byzantium" - The Byzantine
heritage in the years after the Fall of Constantinople.
A display of the Byzantine heritage in the years after the
Fall of Constantinople (1453), traced mainly through religious
art. The exhibits include characteristic examples of religious
painting, with the distinctive formulations found in the
Turkish- and Venetian-ruled areas of Greece, liturgical
textiles and books, and ecclesiastical silverware. Reference
is made to individual subjects such as the flourishing
monasticism of Macedonia, the veneration of the neo-martyrs,
and the emergence of the new representational art of
engraving. Items connected with daily life, and glazed pottery
workshops supplement the pictures of this period.
11. Discovering the past.
Before leaving the exhibition, visitors have the opportunity
to see the process behind the creation and functioning of the
display areas of this and every archaeological museum.
Questions touched upon include the universal human need to
know the past, the methods of attaining this knowledge, the
fortunes of excavations in the modern city, and the process
that converts the archaeological finding into a museum
exhibit.
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