


Increased interest in Byzantine art amongst
Russian scholars and collectors in the 19th and
early 20th century led to the formation of some
superb private collections, the greatest of which
are now concentrated in the Hermitage. It covers
the period from the 4th century (a small group of
early Byzantine sculptures and sculptural
fragments of the 4th to 5th centuries; 5th-century
marble figurine with a traditional Early Christian
representation of the Good Shepherd found in the
ruins of a church at the town of Panderma, Asia
Minor) right up to the 15th century and into the
post-Byzantine era (16th-19th centuries).
Byzantine metalwork of the 6th to 7th centuries is
famous worldwide and the Hermitage owns some
magnificent examples, such as a dish with an
inscription containing the name of Bishop Paternus
(lived in the late 5th and early 6th century), and
skillfully executed 7th-century dishes with Antique
motifs (Silenus and Maenads and Meleager and
Atalanta).
Byzantine craftsmen also reached a high degree of
perfection in the working of ivory, which they used
to make caskets and folding diptychs. Of the latter,
we should note the Hunting diptych (c. 500) and a
panel of a diptych of Consul Areobindus (506).
At over 500 items, the collection of Byzantine
(11th-15th centuries) and post-Byzantine (16th-19th
centuries) icons is notable both for its quantity and
its quality. Of exceptional value are the
12th-century icons St Gregory Thaumaturge
(Gregory the Wonderworker) and The
Transfiguration. Of interest is an icon of Christ the
Almighty (1363) with representations of the donors.
The Hermitage collection of Byzantine seals, in
total some 12,000 items, is the second largest in the
world.There are also large numbers of carved
stones, coins, mosaics and enamel pieces,
spanning the whole period of the existence of
Byzantium.

If you enjoyed this collection, you might want to also visit the other collections at the State Hermitage Museum.
Oriental Coins
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