Bronze Age

COLLECTIONS CYPRIOT ANTIQUITIES
< ALL THE COLLECTIONS

In the period that the Mycenaeans conquer Crete and dominate in the Aegean (15th cent. B.C.), Cyprus has already been established as a trading station along the route from the Aegean to the Near East and Egypt. Art in all its forms flourishes on the island: Cypriot craftsmen create original works in the domain of metallurgy,  pottery and the minor arts, adopting, at the same time, Mycenaean elements, while there is an influx of Aegean and Eastern products into the island.

In the 12th cent. B.C. the Eastern Mediterranean undergoes upheavals that lead to the collapse of all central palatial systems in the Near East and the Aegean (Hittite empire, New Kingdom of Egypt, Mycenaean kingdoms). In the course of the same period, the Achaeans settle permanently on Cyprus and the Greek language prevails, as indicated by the Cypro-syllabic script from the 11th cent. B.C. onwards.

Exhibition's objects

Red Polished miniature jugs (11823, 11826, 11825)
Copper ingot in the shape of an ‘oxhide’, a type widely found throughout the Mediterranean from the 16th to the 11th c. BC . (14729)
Rhyton in the form of a donkey carrying Canaanite amphoras (vases of Syrian origins) on its back. (15373)
Clay female figurine with a bird-shaped face and disproportionately large ears, from which hang two rows of hoop earrings (22654)

Δείτε επίσης

COLLECTIONS

Introduction to the Metalwork Collection

The Metalwork Collection of the National Archaeological Museum constitutes one of the richest and most significant collections of ancient metal artworks of the Greek civilization in the world.
COLLECTIONS

Geometric Period

The Geometric art spans the period from the late 11th to the 8th century BC and is characterized by exquisite […]
COLLECTIONS

Archaic Period

In Greece the import of works of art produced in the wider “East”, such as phialae from Phoenicia, bronze cauldrons […]
COLLECTIONS

Classic Period

The creations of bronze metalwork of the Classical period (5th-4th c. BC) cannot compete in quantity with their archaic counterparts. […]
COLLECTIONS

Hellenistic Period

During the Hellenistic period, namely from the late 4th c. to 31 BC the arts and culture flourished in the […]
COLLECTIONS

Roman Period

During the two pre-Christian centuries the Roman conquerors stripped the Greek sanctuaries and cities of works of art. Statues and […]
Newsletter sign-up