The First Cyprus Treasure or ''Lamboussa Treasure'' is the name of a major early
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
silver hoard found near
Kyrenia
Kyrenia 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 of Kyrenia has been populated before, ...
, Cyprus. Currently in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
'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, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
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 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 of Kyrenia has been populated before, ...
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 Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in 1899.
Description of the treasure
The treasure was probably made in Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, the capital of the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
, 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
Constans II (; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "the Bearded" (), was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as Roman consul, consul, in 642, although the office continued to exist unti ...
, who reigned between 641 and 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 Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
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
Archaeological discoveries in Cyprus
Treasure troves of late antiquity