First Cyprus Treasure
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The First Cyprus Treasure or ''Lamboussa Treasure'' is the name of a major early
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
silver hoard found near
Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...
, Cyprus. Currently in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
's collection, the treasure is largely composed of liturgical objects that may have belonged to an ancient church or monastery. It is called the ''First Cyprus Treasure'' to distinguish it from the so-called ''Second Cyprus Treasure'', which is now split between the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
and the Cyprus Museum.Metropolitan Museum Collection
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Discovery

The hoard was found by accident at the end of the nineteenth century near the Acheiropoietos Monastery, west of
Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...
at the ancient site of Lambousa. It is unclear why the treasure was deposited, but it may have been deliberately hidden to evade the invading Arab armies of 653 AD. Following its discovery, the entire treasure came into the possession of the French aristocrat Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino, who in turn sold it to the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 1899.


Description of the treasure

The treasure was probably made in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, the capital of the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, and is composed of 28 different objects, all made of silver. It includes a bowl with a half length image of a saint (possibly Saint Sergius), a paten with cross in the centre, a hexagonal censer and twenty-five pear-shaped spoons, eleven of which are engraved with leaping animals. The bowl is marked with five stamps from the reign of emperor Constans II, who reigned between 641-51 AD.


Gallery

Image:Cyprus Treasure BM (2).JPG, Eleven spoons with running animals and censer from the treasure Image:Cyprus Treasure BM (3).JPG, Silver Paten with cross from the treasure Image:Cyprus Treasure BM (1).JPG, Silver bowl with half length portrait of a saint in the tondo


See also

* Lampsacus Treasure


References

{{reflist


Bibliography

*D. Strong, Greek and Roman Silver Plate (British Museum Press, 1966) *D. Buckton (ed.), Byzantium: Treasures of Byzantium (London, The British Museum Press, 1994) *J.P.C. Kent and K.S. Painter (eds.), Wealth of the Roman world, AD 300-700 (London, The British Museum Press, 1977) * O. M. Dalton: Byzantine silversmith’s work from Cyprus, in: ''Archeologia'' 57, S. 159-174 * R Merrillees: The modern history of the first Lambousa Treasure of Byzantine Silverware from Cyprus, in: ''Antiquaries Journal'' No 89, 2009, Pages 389-403 Treasure troves of Medieval Europe Silver objects Medieval European objects in the British Museum Byzantine Cyprus Byzantine art