Cyprus PortalCyprus Online Guide
About Cyprus About Cyprus About Cyprus About Cyprus About Cyprus About Cyprus
Cyprus Tourist Information Cyprus Tourist Portal
  Facts about Cyprus
  Area: 9,251 sq km
  Capital: Nicosia
  Language: Greek, Turkish
  Currency: Euro
Turkish Lira
  Populatoin: 784,301
  Coastline: 648 sq km
 
Cyprus Directory and Yellow Pages
Cyprus Holiday and Tourist Guide
Cyprus Rent a Car, Online Reservations
  Search Cyprus Directory  
Home > Culture > Art

Cyprus Art

Throughout the centuries both the history and culture of Cyprus have been formed by its location at the crossroads of cultural exchange between Europe, Asia and Africa . Antiquities excavated on Cyprus bear witness to a culture influenced from abroad, due to its geographic location between the great cultures of the ancient world, but which developed from these influences its own unique tradition. Though less well known than the art of Ancient Greece and Rome , it has a charm all its own.

The Kyrenia Museum of Folk Art situated on the Kyrenia Harbour road was opened in 1974. It is a fine example of pre XVII Century buildings which have traditionally housed Cypriots.

These buildings consisting of a ground floor and an upper floor have their main entrances opening to the harbour. These typical Cypriot houses contain many traditional Cypriot items. On the ground floor, there are items such as oil-mill, plough, agricultural instruments, large earthenware fan, and workbenches which were used until recently, but are not known by the younger generation.

There is a room for a watchman on the stairway leading to the upper floor. In the first room of the upper floor there are examples of especially chosen works and handy works (crochet work, materials embroidered with colorful threads or silver threads, bedspreads, tables covers, head scarves, pillow cases, woolen socks and bowls etc...) from various areas of Cyprus , displayed in glass cabinets. The second room used as a kitchen contains water jugs, wooden mortars, wine bowls, and ceramic bowls.

There is a corner in the third and largest room which was used as a resting place. In the middle of the room, a wooden bed, a wooden cupboard, a cabinet containing various women's and men's clothes, raised wooden shelves with ceramic and metal cups displayed upon them. The third largest room has been arranged in this way. It is possible to see, clothes, chests, tables, chair, wall cupboards, doors and windows, in the all parts of the museum.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum 's collection of Cypriot art contains over 700 objects dating from the early Bronze Age to the Roman Empire; it is thus one of the largest and most important in Europe . Its two best known masterpieces are: the Amazonian Sarcophagus from Soloi, and the Artemis from Larnaca. The Amazonian Sarcophagus was discovered in the 16th century, and records show it to have been in Vienna since the early 17th century. But the main stock of the Cypriot collection - limestone sculptures, ceramics, and terracottas - was assembled during the last third of the 19th century when objects from the collections of Luigi Palma di Cesnola, Max Ohnefalsch-Richter, and Georg von Millosicz were acquired.

The Cyprus Museum in Nicosia houses the richest and most representative collection of Cypriot antiquities in Cyprus . In its exhibition rooms one may see some of the most important pieces of Cypriot art and get a comprehensive picture of the Cypriot culture from the Neolithic period to the Roman times.

There are also district archaeological museums in all towns, local museums, in Episkopi (Limassol) for the antiquities of Kourion and at Kouklia (Paphos) for the antiquities of Paleapaphos and Marion-Arsinoe, Polis tis Chrysochous. There are also a Medieval Museum in the Castle of Limassol and Folk Art Museums at Yeroskipou, Lefkara and Phikardhou as well as an Ethnological Museum in Nicosia at the House of Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios.



 
   1 EUR = 0.79 GBP  
   1 EUR = 1.55 USD  
   1 EUR = 1.97 TRY  

 
   1 TRY = 0.51 EUR  
   1 TRY = 0.40 GBP  
   1 TRY = 0.79 USD  
Cyprus weather
Akrotiri
17°C/63F Clear
Clear
Ercan
14°C/57F Scattered clouds
Scattered clouds
Larnaca
15°C/59F Clear
Clear
Paphos
14°C/57F Scattered clouds
Scattered clouds
 
 
 
Sun Rent a Car
Sun offers the widest selection of cars with the largest fleet in North Cyprus
Stone Architecture
Browse our garden stone architecture products.
Donaghy & Beyler Estates
The market leader for property sales and rentals in North Cyprus.
Sun Rent a Car
Check out our web site offers! 15% discount on every internet reservation.
Donaghy & Beyler Estates
Leading the way in property sales and rentals in North Cyprus.
Home | About Us | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer
Banner on cyprus.com | Register in Cyprus Directory | Site Map
   Copyright: 2004-2008, all rights reserved: Cyprus.com and Relytech Web Design, Slovakia