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The Museum of Cycladic Art houses an impressive collection of Cycladic art. It’s located in the Kolonaki neighborhood of Athens, Greece.
History
The Museum of Cycladic Art was founded on January 26, 1986, to house the private collection of Nicholas (d. 1983) and Dolly Goulandris (1921-2008). With acquisitions since its foundation, the museum now boasts over 3,000 Cycladic, ancient Greek, and ancient Cypriot artifacts ranging from the 4th millennium BC to the 6th century.
The main building was designed by Greek architect Ioannis Vikelas and completed in 1985. In 1991, the Greek State granted the museum the use of the adjacent Stathatos Mansion.
Visiting the Museum of Cycladic Art
The Museum of Cycladic Art is open daily except Tuesdays. Admission is €12 (as of September 2023). There’s a café on the ground floor just past the lobby and gift shop. The first gallery is on the fourth floor and guests work their way down through the other galleries.
Scenes from Daily Life in Antiquity
Scenes from Daily Life in Antiquity occupies the 4th floor gallery of the Museum of Cycladic Art. It displays items used during the daily lives of ancient Athenians.
Scenes from Daily Life in Antiquity is the first part of the Ancient Greek Art exhibit, which contains around 400 artifacts in total. They date between the 2nd millennium BC through the 4th century. The second part of the exhibit is in the 2nd floor gallery.
Gods and Heroes
The exhibit starts with gods and heroes. On display are artifacts such as vessels and figurines with depictions of ancient Greek gods and legendary heroes. They include Olympian gods as well as people representing the accomplishments and failings of humankind.
Wedding Preparations
Next is a section covering wedding preparations. Athenian weddings were usually performed during the winter month of Gamelion with events lasting three days. The day before the wedding, the bride dedicated her old toys to Artemis and offered sacrifices to the gods of marriage. The day ended with a ritual bath taken by both the bride and groom.
On the morning after the wedding, friends and relatives visited the newlyweds. They would bring gifts for their home, and express wishes for the bride to provide her husband with a male heir. Marital life officially began after the third day of celebrations.
Athletics
The section on athletics includes artifacts depicting the equipment, training, and competition of athletes in the ancient Greek world. Athletic competitions were tied to major religious festivals. Training grounds were important for producing healthy citizens capable of defending their city, and were frequented by philosophers and musicians.
Athenian Agora
Next is a section on the Agora of Athens, which was an important gathering place and where democracy was born in 508/7 BC. It served as the center of government, a market, and a place for religious festivals and theatrical performances. On display are pottery shards that were used as voting tokens.
Warfare
Warfare is covered in the following section. On display are helmets and weapons as well as vessels painted with depictions of war. All fit adult men were trained to be ready for battle against common enemies as well as other city-states. They would use spears and swords for hand-to-hand combat and slings, bows, and javelins to attack their enemies from a distance.
Symposium
The symposium was a communal meal developed in the early 7th century BC. It involved a gathering of aristocratic friends and featured food, wine, conversation, and singing. Symposia were strictly for males, who would drink enough to be tipsy but still engage in important political and philosophical discussions. They would often involve reciting poetry and end with erotic games. On display are items used in or depicting a symposium.
Women’s Activities
Finally, there’s a section on women’s activities. Women were confined to their own quarters on an upper floor of their house. This was done to ensure their fidelity and legitimacy of the male’s future heirs. The woman’s most important duty was to raise her children and manage the household. Outside the house, they were permitted to attend religious festivals, visit the tombs of family members, and fetch water from public fountains.
Cypriot Culture
The Cypriot Culture exhibit occupies the 3rd floor gallery of the Museum of Cycladic Art. The Thanos N. Zintilis Collection of Cypriot Antiquities consists of over 800 artifacts and is one of the largest collection of Cypriot antiquities outside of Cyprus. It was added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Cycladic Art in 2002 and opened to the public in 2004.
Pottery
The exhibit begin with cases displaying some impressive pieces of Cypriot pottery. They range from 2500 to 1000 BC and were used as both tomb offerings and in daily life. Many feature geometric decorations, and some using zoomorphic or anthropomorphic figures.
Funerary Practices
The next section covers funerary practices in ancient Cyprus. Burial was the normal funerary custom along with the occasional cremation. The first Cypriots buried their dead under the floor of their homes or in outside pits. Later, rock-cut tombs were used in cemeteries outside of settlements. Sarcophagi became common in the Classical period. Leaves of gold sheets were common burial offerings, while funerary monuments became popular in the 6th century BC.
Bronze and Copper
Bronze and copper objects follow the funerary items. They include weapons, small tools, and figurines, and date between 3900 BC to the 3rd century.
Vessels
Next are small vessels. Some are made of alabaster while others imitate Mycenaean, Syrian, or Egyptian prototypes. They date between 2000 BC to the 3rd century BC.
Glass and Glazed Objects
The Cypriot Culture exhibit continues with glass and glazed objects. The earliest glass production in Cyprus dates to the 15th century BC. It quickly died out but was later revived in the 8th century BC. Glass vessels were used as tableware and for cosmetics, while glass jewelry was used for burials.
Jewelry in Late Antiquity
Next is a display about jewelry in late antiquity. With changes in goldsmithing after the 2nd century, new styles began to appear in the coastal Mediterranean regions. Artisans found a way to reduce the amount of metal required for large pieces by using thin perforated sheets of gold. The items on display are from a tomb of a woman of high social status. They were found at Marion (modern Polis Chrysochous).
Sculptures
Finally, in the center of the gallery are some of the most impressive sculptures from the Cypriot collection.
Ancient Greek Art
The Ancient Greek Art exhibit occupies the 2nd floor gallery of the Museum of Cycladic Art. The Ancient Greek Art exhibit contains around 400 artifacts in total. They date between the 2nd millennium BC through the 4th century. The first part of the exhibit is on the 4th floor gallery and titled Scenes from Daily Life in Antiquity.
Art and Minoan Religion
One of the first sections in the Ancient Greek Art exhibit covers art and Minoan religion. The Minoans worshipped nature deities. Many votives had the form of a bull, which was the sacred animal of the Minoan religion.
Art and Mycenaean Religion
Another section covers art and Mycenaean religion. The Mycenaeans expressed their religious beliefs in funerary ceremonies and placed great importance on care for the dead. They built large family tombs and organized funeral processions, internment ceremonies, and commemorative meals. They also placed numerous objects in tombs, such as vases, jewelry, and figurines.
Homeric Aristocracy
Around the end of the 9th century BC, the ancient Greeks began honoring the accomplishments of their Mycenaean ancestors. Nobles linked their descent to ancient heroes and were buried with weapons and precious objects. This custom was partly due to the popularity of Homeric poems.
Pottery
A good amount of artifacts in the Ancient Greek Art exhibit is made up of pottery. This includes black figure and red figure pottery. The black figure style was adopted around 630 BC and quickly became favored by the aristocracy. Pieces were beautifully decorated with mythological, religious, and quotidian scenes. Black figure pottery consisted of black figures painted on a red background.
Red figure pottery developed in Athens around 520 BC and replaced black figure as the dominant style within a few decades. It consisted of red figures painted on a black background and was in use until the late 3rd century BC.
Attic Pyxis
One of the most impressive items in the Museum of Cycladic Art is a large Attic pyxis with a lid crowned by four horse figurines. According to the description, “the horses may have symbolized the privileged class of Hippeis (Knights)”. The rest of the vase is decorated with geometric motifs, and two small holes on the edge of the lid helped fasten it onto the vase. This pyxis is dated between 760 and 750 BC. Large pyxides are common finds in aristocratic graves of the 8th century BC.
Corinthian Helmets
Among the warfare artifacts on display are three Corinthian helmets dating between the early 7th to early 6th century BC. This style was in use from the end of the 8th century BC through the 4th century BC. According to the description, “it was the most popular type of Greek helmet and the one worn by Greek soldiers in the Persian Wars“. It was the first type of helmet made from a single sheet of bronze and it was able to protect every part of the head. The earliest Corinthian helmets had a cylindrical shape and gradually became more spherical for a better fit.
Toys and Votives
One case displays toys popular with children during ancient times. Some of the items may have also be used as votives. They include a Corinthian jointed doll dating to around 490 BC; a dove figurine that may have been made in a workshop on Rhodes in the 5th century BC; colored dove figurines from the 5th century BC; a rooster-shaped plaque with two small suspension holes from the early 5th century BC; and animal figurines depicting a turtle, pig, and dog from the 5th century BC.
Funerary Objects
Funerary objects are also important artifacts in the Ancient Greek Art exhibit. Below is a funerary stele depicting a banquet for the dead. The deceased is reclining on a couch while relatives and servants prepare offerings and sacrifices. It dates to the second half of the 4th century BC.
Another impressive artifact is a gold leaf wreath depicting nine oak leaves. It’s threaded onto a gold wire with a cornelian bead that may have been added later. It dates between the late 4th and 3rd century BC.
Symbols of Luxury
The final part of the Ancient Greek Art exhibit focuses on symbols of luxury. This included items made of bronze and glass as well as black-glazed pottery. Bronze was the most luxurious type of vessel while black-glazed pottery was popular during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Glass was a luxury item before the invention of glass blowing in the 1st century BC made it much more accessible.
As time progressed, art became internationalized. Aristocrats patronized artists, who increased output dramatically, but most creations were made to satisfy the personal taste of their patrons rather than for a higher purpose. As a result, art became decorative and gradually lost some of its creativity. There was also a rise in coins depicting rulers rather than deities or city emblems.
Cycladic Culture
The Cycladic Culture exhibit occupies the 1st floor gallery of the Museum of Cycladic Art. It displays figurines, tools, weapons, and other Cycladic art from the Cycladic culture, which flourished during the 3rd millennium BC. The collection opened to the public in 1986.
Most of the figurines are made of marble and represent nude female figures with their arms folded. Male figures are rarely represented.
Large Dish
Before getting into some of the notable female figures, one of the rarest pieces in the Museum of Cycladic Art collection is a large marble dish. It features a row of birds, most likely doves, across the middle. The birds, which are common in Cycladic art, were carved from the same piece of marble. The dish was probably associated with cult practices. It dates between 2800 and 2300 BC.
Female Figures
The most impressive piece in the Cycladic Culture collection is a female figure with a height of 1.4 meters. It can be classed as a statue and was made by a gifted artist. It’s quite possibly a cult statue that stood in a shrine and is unlikely to have been a burial offering.
Nearby is another female figure dated between 2800 and 2300 BC. It features a broad band on the forehead, a large area on the back of the head, and spiraling curls. It was covered with pigment and the outline of the left eye is visible.
In another female figurine, the abdomen is slightly swollen and may indicate pregnancy. It’s attributed to the Ashmolean Museum Master and dates between 2800 and 2300 BC.
A large female figurine on display is attributed to the Steiner Master. The top of the forehead and the sides of the face are whiter in color.
Finally, the so-called stargazer is a figurine of the Kilia type. It was found at the site of Kilia on the Gallipoli peninsula in what is now Turkey. It’s dated between 4360 and 3500 BC and was on loan from the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
Stathatos Mansion
After visiting the galleries in the main building, visitors can cross over to the Stathatos Mansion. This annex of the Museum of Cycladic Art is connected to the main building via a glass-roofed corridor.
History
The Stathatos Mansion was built in 1895 for Othon and Athina Stathatos. It was designed by German architect Ernst Ziller (1837-1923) and is one of the most important Neoclassical mansions in Athens. The Stathatos family owned the building until 1938. For several years after, it hosted the diplomatic missions of several different nations.
In 1982, the mansion was purchased by the Greek State. Greek architect Pavlos Kalligas led restoration efforts in order to convert the building into a VIP guest house. The plans were abandoned and in 1991, it was leased to the Museum of Cycladic Art. The lease runs through 2051.
Architecture
The Stathatos Mansion features a monumental porch supporting a balcony topped by statues of Athena and Nike. The marble staircase opens to the ground floor of the mansion, where there was a dining room and drawing room.
A grand staircase leads to the first floor where the bedrooms once were. The basement housed the kitchen and functional rooms, and is now used as office space.
Temporary Exhibitions
The Museum of Cycladic Art hosts temporary exhibitions in the Stathatos Mansion. On display during my visit was Homecoming. It featured “Cycladic treasures on their return journey” and ran from November 3, 2022, to October 31, 2023.
The exhibition was the first step of an agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Museum of Cycladic Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to return 161 Early Cycladic antiquities to Greece. The antiquities are part of the private collection of Leonard Stern, and the agreement was ratified by the Hellenic Parliament on September 9, 2022.
15 pieces of the collection were presented for the first time as part of the Homecoming exhibition. They include ten marble figurines and five vases made of marble, steatite and clay. The figurines exclusively represent the female figure. They date between the Late Neolithic and the Early Cycladic II period, around 5300 to 2400/2300 BC.
After the exhibition at the Museum of Cycladic Art, the entire collection will be exhibited at the Met before returning to Greece.
