Medelhavsmuseet - The Cyprus Collections

The Cyprus Collections is the largest and most important collection of Cypriote excavation finds outside Cyprus. The Collections are the result of vast excavations by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition (1927 - 1931), led by archaeologist Einar Gjerstad.

In antiquity, Cyprus caught the attention of the nearby powerful states. Immigrants from Greece, Anatolia, the Near East and Egypt influenced art and culture during thousands of years. Early on, Cyprus became a venue for multi-cultural meetings.

Among many other objects, the Collections consist of hundreds of terracotta figurines of different sizes. They were unearthed at a sacred cult site – Ajia Irini – where people worshipped a powerful god of fertility. The Collections also include sharpened copper weapons, a family tomb from the Bronze Age, and beautiful statues of golden limestone from sites of worship and from a palace. Some of the statues still have traces of colour.

The most important find of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition was the discovery in 1929 of the cult site at Ayia Iríni at the western end of the island.

New Cyprus gallery sponsored by the A.G. Leventis Foundation

The Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities has been granted a major donation from the A. G. Leventis Foundation in order to create a new Cypriote gallery in the museum. The rebuilding will lead to the exhibition of a larger amount of finds from the Swedish Cyprus Expedition (1927 - 1931) in the central hall. The new exhibition will convey the latest research in Cypriote archaeology.

Until the new exhibition opens, a certain amount of Cypriote objects will be made availible through the traveling exhibition "The Swedish Cyprus Expedition on Tour". The first halt was the Museum of National History in Bucharest (Romania). The traveling exhibition was also shown i Alicante, Spain, and is presently at the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia.

In 2006, the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities opened an introduction to the new Cypriote gallery: The Expedition – a miniature exhibition of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition. The new Cypriote gallery in the central hall will open in 2008/2009.