JOURNAL

This is the first complete publication of 116 objects, which comprise the Cyprus chapter of the extensive folklore collection owned by the Benaki Museum. The objects in the collection– significant due to their antiquity, as well as the provenance of many works from areas of the island that are now occupied – are embroideries, lace, hand-made tradition costumes, jewellery, as well as individual samples of ceramics, wood sculpture, leather-work and engraving on gourds. This scientific catalogue, authored by Euphrosyne Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou, Associate Professor of Folk Art and Architecture at the University of Cyprus, includes every object, classified by category, accompanied by a photograph and an extensive entry, including a description, typology, critique on style and technique, and annotated with the dimensions, the place of origin, name of the donor, or the individual from whom it was purchased, publications mentioning each object. The catalogue is further enriched with maps of the island, a glossary of words that are distinct to the Cypriot dialect, Greek and foreign bibliography.

Editing of French texts: Fabienne Vogin

Translation: Valerie Nunn