The Museum of Byzantine Culture () is a museum in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece, which opened in 1994.
History To design the museum, a nationwide architectural competition was announced in 1977. The competition was ultimately won by the entry of Kyriakos Krokos. Construction of the building began in March 1989, and was completed in October 1993. Antiquities from the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens were transferred in June 1994, some of them being displayed in the museum's inaugural exhibition, "Byzantine Treasures of Thessaloniki: The Return Journey". The museum finally opened on 11 September 1994.
Purpose of the museum
Article 4, Goals:
Later, its structure and responsibilities are modified after the publication of the Decree 191 (Organization of the Ministry of Culture, Government Gazette 146 / A / 13.6.2003), according to the Article 56. The responsibilities are described in detail as follows: "...issues of acquisition, acceptance, storage, maintenance, recording, documentation, research, study, publication and display and promotion to the public of objects of the early Christian, Byzantine, medieval in general and post-Byzantine periods in northern Greece and of the modern era with subjects related to the Byzantine and Christian art".Dekret 191 (Ministry of Culture, Government Gazette 146 / A / 13.6.2003)
Exhibits Opening in 1994, the museum currently has 11 (as of 2017) permanent exhibitions. The first, "Early Christian Churches", focuses on the design and decoration of churches in early centuries of Christianity. "Early Christian Cities and Dwellings", presents aspects of economic life, domestic handicrafts, houses, and food and clothing of early Christians, and finally, "From the Elysian Fields to the Christian Paradise" focuses on cemeteries of early Christians, jewellery, sepulchral architecture and painting, cult customs, and clay and glass objects recovered from excavated graves. Beginning in 1998, the museum has run educational programmes for schoolchildren.
The exhibition in detail:
Room 1: The Early Christian Church Here, finds from the Protobyzantin period (4th to 7th century) are exhibited. After the founding of the Byzantine Empire by Constantine the Great (330 AD) Christianity soon became a state religion. Since 1997 artifacts of the early Christian Church and architectural finds have been shown in connection with the church buildings of the time, while wealthy churches were endowed with marble or mosaic floors and marble wall claddings, poorer churches were laid out with mosaic floors and frescoed walls.
Room 2: Early Christian City and Dwelling Since 1998, objects of everyday life such as pottery, glass vessels, looms etc. have been shown here. The reception hall of a rich household in Thessaloniki was imitated; the role of the city in private and public life is to be emphasized.
Room 3: From the Elysian Fields to the Christian Paradise The exhibition refers to the European Union-sponsored program "The Transformation of the Roman World in the Period from 400 to 900 AD". The exhibits mainly consist of graves, gravestone inscriptions, and tomb paintings. Thus, the transformation of burial rites and burial decorations since late antiquity is displayed. The exhibition was opened in 1997.
Room 4: From Iconoclasm to the Splendor of the Macedonian and Komnenian Dynasties Since 2000, the period from the 8th to the 12th century has been dealt with in Room 4. This so-called middle Byzantine period was regarded as a period of Byzantine humanism and Greek education. Shown are items of everyday life in the Macedonian and Komnenian Dynasties such as coins, pottery, lead seals and clothing.
Room 5: The Dynasties of Byzantine Emperors Here the epoch of the Byzantine rulers from the time of Heraclius (610–641) to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 is considered. Since the year 2000, coins and seals from this time have been seen here.
Room 6: The Byzantine Castle The Byzantine castles were built in strategically important locations. In order to protect their inhabitants and people from the surrounding area, even during a long period of a siege in war time, they had all the necessary facilities of a city. The archaeological finds displayed are from different castles of Macedonia. A video informs the visitor about the castles of Macedonia and Thrace. The exhibition in room 6 was opened in 2000.
Room 7: The Twilight of Byzantium (1204–1453) The late Byzantine period is noticed by his artists and their works of art. It especially focuses on the Slavic neighbors of Greece and the monastic community of Mount Athos. Since 2002 the works of art have been exhibited.
Room 8: Dori Papastratos Collection The collection was donated to the museum in 1994. In addition to wooden and copper printing plates, more than 200 prints from the 18th to the 19th century can be seen. Some prints were taken from the permanent exhibition of the museum and are exhibited in other museums, abroad and within Greece.
Room 9: The Demetrios Economopoulos Collection Since 2001, some of the 1460 artefacts that Mr. Oikonopoulos has left to the museum are exhibited. The collection contains pieces from prehistoric times up to the 19th century, with Byzantine and post-Byzantine art predominant. Mainly, icons from the 14th century to the 19th century are shown.
Room 10: "Byzantium after Byzantium": The Byzantine Legacy in the Years after the Fall It was only in 2004 that Room 10 was opened to the public in its present form. Here the Byzantine legacy after the conquest of the Ottoman Empire is illuminated. The works depicted illustrate various styles that were cultivated under the rule of the Venetians and the Ottomans. Exhibited are icons, prints, embroidery, books, silver and gold forging.
Room 11: Discovering the Past The last room of the permanent exhibition opened in 2004. It documents the stations from the excavation of an object to its exhibition in the museum. The excavation, documentation, study and conservation phases are brought to the visitor by means of archaeological material and digital representation.
Temporary exhibitions Since the opening of the museum, temporary exhibitions have been held, most of which touch on the subject of "Byzantium". Among other things, there were presentations of religious themes, daily life and Byzantine treasures in the monastic republic of Athos.
In addition, the exhibits of other museums are presented and thematic related hiking exhibitions are housed.
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.
Miniatures 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.
Laboratories and workshops