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The Kanellopoulos Museum

 



Kanellopoulos Museum

 




You will find the Museum of Paul and Alexandra Kanellopoulos in Anafiotika on the north slope of the Acropolis. It is a beautiful, small museum where representative examples of Greek civilization are exhibited. The collection belonged to Paul and Alexandra Kanellopoulos.

The main entrance to the Kanellopoulos MuseumThe museum was founded in 1976 after the collection was donated to the Greek state. It was housed in one of the most impressive neoclassical buildings in Anafiotika. The mansion was constructed at the end of the 19th century and belonged to the Michaleas family.

The collection contains around 6.000 objects and works of art and it gives visitors a good view on the entire multiformity and extent of the Greek artistic creation from the Prehistoric period to the Modern era. The museum’s exhibition has been organized in chronological order and thematic units in order for visitors to be able to follow the development and the peculiarities of Greek art.

The presentation of the displayed objects begins in the mezzanine of the museum. Here, objects from the Neolithic (6800-3200 BC) and the Bronze Age (3200-1100 BC) are shown. The cult objects and those of everyday use offer notable images of the Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean cultures.

Marble head of Alexander the Great, Dated to the 2nd century AD. - Kanellopoulos  Museum AthensCharacteristic of these are the famous marble Cycladic figurines representing the human form in an abstract way, the large marble containers (kanteles) and the male form of Minoan Crete wearing the Minoan garment, the zoma. Geometric pottery and figurines (900-700 BC) from Attica, the Cyclades and Cyprus, represent the next period. Of these, an Attic prochous of the 8th century showing the characteristic Geometric decorative motifs together with herons and horses, stands out.

The tour in Greek art continues on the first floor where the rich collection of Archaic (7th-6th century BC) and Hellenistic (3rd-2nd century BC) works are on display. Three of the Athenian 6th century BC vases are impressive:

• an excellently preserved black-figurine hydria with a scene of women at a fountain  house.
• two rare amphorae by the potter Nikosthenes with Dionysiac scenes.

The funerary white-ground lekythoi (a type of Greek pottery used for storing oil, especially olive oil), beautifully decorated, and a red-figure crater by the Dinos Painter, one of the great painters of his time, mark the most important examples of Attic 5th century pottery.

The Tanagraias, the small, pretty and especially elegant terracotta figurines of the 4th and 3rd century BC from Tanagra in Boeotia, constitute a remarkable unit. The figurine of the Muse holding her lyre still carries traces of the colors that once decorated it.

The sculptures, inscriptions, coins, seal stones and vases from the Roman period complete the ancient art. The 2nd century AD marble head of Alexander the Great with the serene expression is impressive as well as the Egyptian Fayum portraits stand on the verge between ancient and Christian art.

One of the most important units of the museum is that of the silver and gold Decapitation of Aghia Paraskevi. Icon signed by Michael Damaskenos  (16th century AD) - Kanellopoulos  Museum Athensjewelry which contains exceptional examples from all periods. Jewels that were put in the grave with the dead, Archaic minute plates that decorated the garments, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and fingering reveal their technical perfection and the love of ancient peoples for beauty and luxury. Among the ornate Byzantine jewels, a 10th century AD bracelet stands out bearing demonic figures while the 18th century AD silver necklaces are remarkable among the works of folk art.

On the ground floor and lower mezzanine rooms, visitors can view representative art works of the Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods. The collection of 270 icons is significant. A signed icon by Michael Damaskenos of the “Decaptitation of Saint Paraskevi” is a valuable example of one of the most remarkable painters of the 16th century AD School of Crete. Top

Opening hours Opening hours and admission
Locaton map Corner of Theorias and Panos street - Anafiotika
Nearest metro stationMonastiraki

  

  WHAT TO SEE IN ATHENS
  MUSEUMS IN ATHENS
  KANELLOPOULOS MUSEUM

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