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Greece Museums
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Museum of Cycladic Art
13-03-2013 18:42The Museum of Cycladic Art was founded in order to house the collection of Cycladic and Ancient Greek art belonging to Nicholas and Aikaterini Goulandris. The museum is housed in a building that was designed for that purpose since 1986. In 1991 the museum acquired a new wing, the neoclassical Stathatos’ Mansion, an architectural work of Ernst Ziller, on the corner of Vassilissis Sophias and Herodotou Streets, in Athens.
Nicholas and Dolly Goulandris started their collection of archaeological objects at the beginning of the ‘60s, after being granted official permission by the Greek state. The collection soon became renowned among scholars because of its rare Cycladic objects. The collection of Cycladic art was first presented at the Benaki Museum in 1978 and then travelled to major museums and galleries all over the world: National Gallery of Washington, Museum of Western Art at Tokyo and Kyoto, Musees Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire and the Palais des Beaux Arts at Brussels, British Museum at London and Grand Palais at Paris.
Today, the collection is permanently exhibited in the Museum of Cycladic Art which is dedicated to the study and promotion of ancient cultures of the Aegean and Cyprus, with special emphasis on findings of Cyclades of the 3rd millennium BC. The collection contains approximately 3.000 objects of Cycladic, Ancient Greek and Cypriot art.
The Cycladic civilization was active on the Cyclades in central Aegean, between 3200 and 2000 BC. The Cycladic collection contains 350 objects representative of every type of artefact and especially the notable marble figurines representing mostly female human figures with the arms folded above the belly.
The collection of the Ancient Greek Art includes Greek artefacts dating from the Bronze Age through to the Late Roman period like pottery, terracotta figurines, jewellery and a collection of coins. In 2002, the collector Thanos N. Zintilis donated to the museum one of the largest collections of Cypriot antiquities in the world, now permanently exhibited in the museum.
One of the most fruitful activities of the museum is the temporary exhibitions that constantly draw the interest of the public. Apart from archaeology, the temporary exhibitions frequently focus on modern and contemporary art, introducing important contemporary artists.
Museum of Cycladic Art
4, Neophytou Douka st., Athens (Metro Station Evaggelismos)
Opening hours
Monday - Wednesday - Friday - Saturday: 10:00 - 17:00
Thursday: 10:00 - 20:00
Sunday: 11:00 - 17:00
Tuesday: closed
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