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The Museum of the History of the Greek Costume of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women

 


Museum of the History of the Greek Costume
of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women

 

The Museum of the History of the Greek Costume was inaugurated in 1988 by the then Minister of Culture Melina Merkouri. It is part of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women, a non-profit organization founded in 1910. It is housed in a two-storey building, built in the 1920s by the civil engineer, Elias Economou, to serve as his private residence. It was purchased in 1985 by the Lyceum Club of Greek Women and arranged to accommodate the Club's costume collection.

The museum's collection of Greek costumes and related accessories was started in 1920s with the first gifts and purchases which formed the core of the Wardrobe of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women. Upon acquisition of the first costumes, Callirrhoe Parren, the founder of the club, had expressed the desire to see the creation of a "sort of ethnological museum that would complement the official Government museums". Costumes of Psara and Hydra - Museum of the History of the Greek Costume

At first, the costumes were used during performances of the club's folk dance group. Very soon, however, Alexandra Wassenhoven, who served as caretaker of the collection for 37 years, realized the uniqueness of the material and came to the conclusion that the items in her department deserved to be treated as museum pieces rather than as theatrical costumes. Several years later, this idea led to the creation of the Museum of the History of the Greek Costume.

The museum is dedicated to the study of the Greek costume. Its collection comprises 25.000 items, mainly authentic regional costumes and ornaments. Only part of the collection is displayed in the thematic exhibitions that are periodically held on the ground floor of the building.

• Greek Regional Costumes
• Ornaments
• Copies of Minoan, Classical and Byzantine Costumes
• China Dolls Dressed in Greek Costumes

Costumes of Psara and Hydra - Museum of the History of the Greek CostumeThe basic activity of the Museum of the History of the Greek Costume is the setting up of annual periodic thematic exhibitions which are organized in collaboration with the National Archive of Greek Traditional Costume as well as following bibliographical and archival research in the field of the Greek costume.

From 1990 on, the Lyceum Club of Greek Women has been publishing a desktop calendar illustrated with 54 color photographs and containing relevant introductory notes. In the last few years, these calendars have also constituted a sort of catalogue of the exhibition, since the theme chosen for the calendar is the same as that of the exhibition.

Opening hours Opening hours and admission
Locaton map
7, Dimokritou Street - Kolonaki
Nearest metro stationSyntagma Top

  WHAT TO SEE IN ATHENS
  MUSEUMS IN ATHENS
  MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF
  GREEK COSTUME

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