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The Benaki Museum
The
Benaki Museum was founded at the home of Emmanouil Benakis after
his dead in (1842-)1929. It was left to the Greek nation by his
heirs to house the collection of his son, Antonis Benakis. The
museum opened to the public in 1931.
The building
The
neoclassical building between Vasilissis Sofias avenue and Koubari
street was built in 1867-1868 for the merchant Ioannis Peroglou.
In 1895 it was bought by the businessman Panagis Charokopos and
it was remodelled by the architect Anastasios Metaxas who designed
and supervised all the alterations which were completed by 1931.
The
Charokopos Mansion, as it was also known, was sold to Emmanouil
Benakis in 1910 and was redesigned so as to accommodate his social
needs and those of his family. These alterations gave the building
a grand entrance and a luxurious interior. In 1929-1931, the mansion
was extended to the west and was redesigned again, this time as
a museum.
The
construction for a new museum’s wing started in 1988 and
it opened in 1997. This additional wing, designed by Alekos and
Stefanos Kalligas, was needed to enable the wealth of the museum’s
collections to be displayed and to find a home for its numerous
activities so that it could become a complete cultural institution.
The extension also houses a library, rooms for temporary exhibitions
and events as well as a marvellous coffee-shop.
After
Antonis Benakis’s dead (1873-1954), and particularly after
1974, the initial collections which included works of Ancient,
Byzantine, Post-Byzantine, Islamic and Folk Art, were supplemented
by new material. Today, the museum’s collections include
the Historical and Photographic archives, the neo-Hellenic Architecture
archives, the Department of Childhood, Toys and Games as well
as numerous works of modern and modernist Greek art.
The
Benaki Museum also incorporates the Museum of Islamic Art in Kerameikos,
the Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas Gallery in Kolonaki and the new
exhibition building near the old Gas factory (Gazi) on Pireos
Street.
Antiquities collection
In
room 1 of the museum one can see Paleolithic and Neolithic finds
from various areas of Greece and Cyprus, mostly axes, figurines
and ceramics with inscribed decorations. In room 2 are items from
the Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations and excellent
examples of pottery and metalwork from the Geometric and the Orientalising
periods. Among these are two very important and rare golden cups
and a silver cup, known as the Treasure of Euboea, from the early
Helladic period. Other noteworthy pieces are a large Attic Geometric
urn and a golden crown from the Orientalising era from Kos. It
is decorated with images of sphinxes.
In
Room 3 objects are displayed with ceramics from workshops of
Attica, Boeotia and Corinth, jewels from northern Greece and
Ionia (mostly ornate brooches) and sculptures from Cyprus,
Naxos and Attica. In rooms 4, 5 & 6, around the museum’s
main columned area, are items from the Classical period. These
include re-figure pottery from the 5th century BC, white lecythi,
copper helmets from Trace and Corinth together with other weaponry
items, an excellent inscribed figurine of Hercules from Boeotia,
sculptures from the 5th and 4th centuries BC and Roman copies
of works from the same period. Finds from tombs among which
terracotta figurines from Attica, Boeotia and Alexandria, copper
mirrors, golden jewellery and wreaths as well as marble funerary
monuments can be admired here also.
Works
from the Hellenistic and Roman periods can be seen in room 7.
The exhibits are proof of the wealth and luxury of those times
with the best example being the so called Treasure of Thessalia,
a group of valuable golden jewellery, much of which is decorated
with semi-precious stones. There also is a uniquely crafted hair
net with the bust of the goddess Athena.
Among
the rest of the items on display, one can see Attic red-figure
pottery, metal vessels from Macedonia and Asia Minor, votive and
funerary reliefs, Roman copper figurines as well as glass and
ceramic vases from the same period.
The
contents of room 8 forms a bridge between the Ancient and the
Byzantine worlds as they include works from late Antiquity, such
as a small golden statue of Venus, a marble head of Paris from
Crete, jewels and small ivory ornaments, Roman portraits and bas-reliefs
from Syria and Phrygia.
Byzantine collection
The
Benaki Museum’s Byzantine collection documents the development
of art in the Byzantine Empire during its thousand-year history.
In room 9 there are numerous items, mostly from domestic houses,
which cast light on everyday life during late Antiquity (4th-7th
century BC). There is a large number of particularly interesting
terracotta and copper lamps on display as well as silver plates
with decorations inspired by the Greco-Roman tradition, ceramic
plates and ecclesiastical artefacts (incense-holders and challises).
From
the same period there also are examples of the art of the first
Egyptian Christians, the Copts. The Coptic collection includes
silk and linen fabrics which are influenced by the artistic
preferences of the great cultural centres of that era as well
as items of metalwork and wooden sculptures that testify to
Egypt’s
great economic growth, mostly during the 5th and 6th century
BC.
The
mid-Byzantine era (8th-12th century AD) is represented in room
10 by a limited number of significant samples of paintings (mosaics
taken from Italy and Constantinople, manuscripts and small bas-reliefs
made of steatite and ivory) and metalwork such as numerous amulets
and glazed pottery from Constantinople, Cyprus and Thessalonica.
In
rooms 11 and 12, visitors can admire excellent examples of late-Byzantine
painting (1204-1453) and famous post-Byzantine icons, many of
which are signed by or attributed to great painters of that time
(Angelos Akotantos, Nikolaos or Andreas Ritzos, Emmanouil Lombardos,
Domenikos Theotokopoulos). Also on display is Byzantine jewellery
from all periods in which one can see stylistic and thematic influences
from the Greek-Roman jewel-making traditions as well as coins
which offer valuable information about the history and culture
of Byzantium.
Modern Times collection
The
Benaki Museum’s collections of religious and secular art
from the 15th to the 19th century, reveal Greek material culture
during Ottoman rule. The collections of secular art in rooms
13 to 24 include decorative objects and items of practical use
from mainland Greece and the islands, Cyprus and
Asia Minor. The rooms with the woodcut and painted internal decorations
from houses of Kozani from the mid-18th century (rooms 17 &
19) and Hydra from the 16th century (room 24) are particularly
interesting.
Other
important parts of the collection are the wooden painted and sculpted
items, ceramics with rare decorations, metalwork, textiles and
embroideries, as well as the ornate traditional costumes from
various areas. There also is a very important collection of jewellery
with familiar motifs such as ships with three masts and stone
sculptures from the islands.
In
rooms 25 to 28 religious artefacts of the post-Byzantine era
are on display. They originate from areas in Greece and the
Greek communities of the diaspora mainly from the Black Sea,
Asia Minor and Thrace. These collections have been brought
by the refugees who came to Greece during the exchange of populations
between Greece and Turkey. Among these items visitors will
especially enjoy the woodcut screens (room 27) and epitaphs,
liturgical clothes depicting the Lament and used during Good
Friday services (Rooms 25 & 26).
Rooms
29 to 32 show musical instruments, books, weapons, offerings and
tools which portray aspects of everyday life before the Greek
War of Independence of 1821. Among them there are the books of
the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Chrissanthos Notaras, as well as a
domestic distillations flask.
Rooms
33-36 offer relics from the Greek War of Independence and from
the foundations and expansion of the Greek State during the years
of Kapodistrias, King Otto, King George I and Elefetherios Venizelos.
Apart from weapons, emblems and depictions of the War of Independence,
the collection also includes personal belongings, documents, maps
and clothing of the 19th century royal court.
Of
particular historical and emotional value are the manuscripts
of great Greek literary figures and the Nobel pizes of the
poets Giorgos Seferis and Odysseas Elytis. Additionally, along
the corridors and the staircase, visitors can admire paintings,
drawings and lithographs showing Greece and especially Athens.
They are just a few of the museum’s total of almost 6.000
paintings and engravings.
Coptic art collection
The
Benaki Museum's collection of Coptic art includes a uniquely rich
group of textiles. These fabrics recently received international
exposure through the European program Tissus, when specialists
and researchers from all over the world were able to gain access
to them following their publication on the Internet.
The
blending of elements derived from local Egyptian tradition and
Greco-Roman civilization with vigorous newer elements of the Christian
religion, is very clearly reflected in the items of this collection.
The stress on ornament, the stylization of the human figure, the
emphasis on depicting local subjects such as Nile landscapes and,
above all, the expressive immediacy of the scenes themselves,
are all distinguishing features of Coptic art.
Some
of the textiles in the collection reproduce the subject matter
and aesthetic tendencies of the great artistic centers of that
time. These fragmentary objects are the only evidence available
of the appearance of luxurious silk cloths which, for the most
part, haven been lost.
Articles
of metalwork and wood carved objects are representative of Egyptian
products, once widely traded, mainly in the 5th and 6th century,
thus providing valuable historical evidence of the daily life
of the period. They also reflect the composite nature of their
date and provenance. Egypt, a wheat-growing land that played an
important role in the economies of both the Roman and the early
Byzantine Empires, was a crossroad of peoples and cultures.
These
circumstances led to the emergence of a local artistic idiom which
is most clearly expressed in the collection's numerous bronze
vessels, including lamps and jugs decorated with zoomorphic handles
and depictions of dancers and divinities that had the power to
prevent evil or bad luck. These articles are evidence of the advances
made in the major artistic centers of the time, while simultaneously
representing the foundation upon which Islamic art developed in
Egypt following the Arab conquest of 642 AD.
Chinese art collection
This
collection mainly comprises the gift of George Eumorphopoulos,
one of the most important connoisseurs of Chinese civilization.
The gradual evolution of Chinese ceramics
from the third century BC up to the 19th century is represented
by more than 1.300 objects of the highest quality, all of which
attest to the magnitude of China's contribution to the cultural
history of humanity.
Of
especial importance are the magnificent Neolithic vases decorated
with geometric patterns, while the funerary sculpture from the
Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) are some of the most splendid creations
of their type. The collection also includes elegantly proportioned
and finely decorated ware dating to the Song Dynasty (960-1279),
porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1644 and 1644-1911),
snuff bottles and other objects in semi-precious stone.
Museum of Islamic Arts
The
Museum of Islamic Arts is part of the Benaki Museum situated
on 22, Assomation and 12, Dipilou Streets – Kerameikos. It
used to be the residence of Lampros Eftaxias, honorary president
of the Benaki Museum’s governing board. The residence actually
consists of two houses, one three-storey, the other two-storey.
In
1989 they were declared as listed buildings and their restoration
began in 1996. The new museum opened in June 2004. During restorations
parts of an ancient wall and tombs were discovered at foundations
level and a number of spaces in the buildings were adjusted in
order to display these finds.
The
Museum of Islamic Arts is the only museum of Islamic art in the
Balkans. It has a rich collection of artefacts covering a period
of thirteen centuries. The collection was initially acquired
by the museum’s founder, Antonis Benakis, and by later
donations and purchases. It includes ceramics, metal objects,
textiles, wood engravings, glasswork as well as seals, weapons
and golden ornaments.
There
are four display areas:
• Objects from the 7th to the 12th century are displayed
on the
first level.
• Objects from the 12th to the 16th century are displayed
on the
second level.
• The third level has a marble inlaid interior of a 17th
century
mansion in Cairo as well as treasures from Iran and Turkey.
• Level four has a collection of weapons and jewels from
Iran
dating from the Qajar period (1796-1925)
Other activities
The
museum’s Photographic Archives, founded in 1973, are in
a building on 15, Filikis Etaireias Square in Kolonaki, not far
from the main building of the Benaki Museum. These include around
300.000 negatives and 25.000 original photographs, a study area,
a conservations lab and a dark room. Among the collections are
the archives of Konstantinos and Petros Moraïtis, Nelly’s,
Voula Papaionnou, Dimitris Charissiades and others.
The
Neo-Hellenic Architecture Archives are stored on 138, Pireos &
Andronikou street. They include the archives of important Greek
architects such as Ioannis Despotopoulos, Solon Kidoniatis, Dimitris
Pikionis ect. From 1994, the Benaki Museum’s Historical
Archives have been housed in the Stefanos and Penelopi Delta
Residence in Kifissia. They include material donated by private
organizations and individuals and are considered to be one of
the best organized and most important sources for the study of
modern Greek history with collections that begin just before
the Greek War of Independence of 1821 up to World War II.
The
Historical Archives of the Benaki Museum include the collections
of Eleftherios Venizelos, Georgios Karaiskakis and Anastassis
and Andreas Lontos as well as the archives of the Resistance during
World War II and those of Greek composers (Nikolaos Mantzaros,
Nikolaos Skalkotas, Giannis Papaioannou), poets and writers (Dionyssios
Solomos, Konstantinos Kavafis (Cavafy), Grigorios Xenopoulos and
Angelos Sikelianos).
The
Benaki Family
The
Benaki family was one of the most prominent families in
the Peloponnese before the Greek War of Independence.
They held on to their wealth and status after the war
and contributed greatly to the cultural and political
life of Greece.
Emmanouil
Benakis was born in Syros in 1843. He became a cotton
merchant in Alexandria. He went into politics in 1910,
became a member of the Greek Parliament and later a minister
and Mayor of Athens. He was a supporter of Venizelos and
was later imprisoned and exiled for
his political beliefs. He died in 1929.
Emmanouil
Benakis and his wife, Virginia Choremi, had five children,
two of whom, Antonis and Penelopi, played a significant
part in the cultural life of the country. Antonis Benakis
was born in Alexandria in 1873 and came to live in Athens
in 1926. From a young age he was interested in collecting.
He was in friendly relationship with eminent scholars
of his time whom he consulted to develop his collections.
He
founded the Museum in 1929, naming it after his family,
and ran it until his dead in 1954. His sister Penelopi
was one of the greatest Greek writers, writing mostly
children’s books on patriotic-national themes. She
was married to the businessman Stefanos Deltas. Among
her best know works are the “Story Without a Name”,
“The Secrets of the Swamp” and “Mad
Antonis” (inspired by her brother Antonis Benakis).
On the day the Germans invaded Athens in the spring of
1941, Penelopi Delta took her own life, unable to endure
national humiliation.