A Family Institution
Μουσείο Μπενάκη / Benaki Museum
Located in the Benakis family mansion in Athens, which is itself situated near the National Garden, the Benaki Museum was established in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father, Emmanouil Benakis. The museum was later bequeathed to the Greek nation by Antonis and his sisters, Alexandra, Penelope, and Argine.
While originally the entirety of the museum’s collection, including Asian Art, Islamic Art, Chinese porcelain, and even a toy collection, was housed here, this was later split, leaving the present museum to concentrate on Greek works from the prehistoric period to modern times. The remaining collections moved to other locations.
The museum’s ancient collection covers art from prehistoric times, beginning in the 6th millennium BCE, up to the Roman era. Prehistory is represented by pottery, tools, and figurines from the Aegean islands, Cyprus, and Central Greece. The Ancient Greek period is represented by sculptures and vases, including objects from Attica, Macedonia, South Italy, and the Greek Islands. The Roman period is represented by jewelry, glasswork, marble portraits, and funerary steles, as well as Fayum portraits.
The Byzantine collection showcases works created during this period of history that links ancient and modern Greece, including icons, vessels, and manuscripts.
The icons especially showcase the evolution and development of iconography including works from the workshops of Crete and Mount Athos, including the later evolutions of Greek painterly tradition. Jewelry in particular serves to showcase the evolution of the Roman traditions and techniques, especially as they began to include examples of iconography as well, turning into religious objects, including rosaries, crosses, amulets, and reliquaries.
Some of the objects displayed in the museum are actual heirlooms donated by the descendants and relatives of those connected with the history of modern Greece, including the Philhellenic movement and the struggle for Greek Independence.
A collection of woven textiles and embroideries, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, represent a wide variety of areas of Greece, including needlework from Epirus and the Ionian Islands, bed clothes from Asia Minor, and embroideries from Skyros and Cyprus. Its collection of Greek costumes includes complete outfits and isolated fragments from different regions, including tunics from Karpathos and a pleated and embroidered skirt from Crete.
This is a parlor from a mansion in Kozani, Macedonia. It represents the neo-Hellenic style of the 18th century, mixing Central European, Byzantine, and Ottoman decorative elements. The room was rescued by Alexandra Choremi, sister of Antonis Benakis, and donated to the museum by her heirs.
This is another parlor from another mansion (the Tsiminakis Mansion), also in Kozani, Macedonia. The walls are covered with wood-carved motifs, including flowers, birds, and double-headed eagles. The room is arranged as it was in its original location, and is a representative example of 18th century mansions of this geographical area.
Gold Colored Fox 