The Severis Collection of Cypriote Art

The island of Cyprus has a rich archaeological history, with the first organized excavations taking place in the 1860s. Luigi Palma di Cesnola and his team were responsible for the majority of these early digs, hastily unearthing incredible finds that were later shipped to the United States. Cesnola went on to found the Metropolitan Museum of Art, serving as its first Director.

After a quiet period, the early 1920s saw a resurgence in archaeological interest when Einar Gjerstad visited Cyprus to write his doctoral thesis. Recognizing the island's archaeological potential, Gjerstad returned in 1927 with a team of Swedish archaeologists, forming the Swedish Cyprus Expedition. This expedition, which lasted until 1931, was the first to systematically excavate the island, with many of the finds now housed in the Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm.

The Swedish Cyprus Expedition revitalized a love for archaeology across the island, captivating many, including a young Leto Lymbouridou. Despite her dream of becoming an archaeologist, such careers were seen as unsuitable for women at the time, and her request was rejected.

Another key figure in this story is Costakis Severis, whose father, Demosthenis Severis, had been born in the village of Kythrea in the late 1800s. The areas surrounding Kythrea were rich in archaeological sites, sparking Demosthenis' curiosity as workers often discovered antiquities.

In 1935, under the supervision of the British colonial government, the Department of Antiquities was founded, ushering in a new era of archaeological research on the island. A year later, Leto married Costakis Severis, who shared her enthusiasm for Cypriot archaeology and helped her pursue her studies. By this time, Demosthenis Severis had moved to Kyrenia, an area with even more fruitful archaeological sites. He quickly became known to the villagers, who offered him antiquities found through work or sheer luck, rapidly expanding his previously small collection.

Leto Severis Bichrome Jar in Alexis Drakopoulos Collection

Leto began her own collecting journey in the early 1940s, under the guidance of her father-in-law. She soon became an accomplished historian, with her collection growing rapidly after the end of World War II as archaeology on the island continued to flourish. Her aim was to create a collection representative of the entire breadth of Cypriot art, from the earliest occupations of the island. In 1945, Demosthenis Severis, the son of Leto and Costas, was born.

Leto and Costas continued their collecting journey, amassing thousands of artifacts until July 1974, when the Turkish invasion not only halted their efforts but also resulted in the looting of over 600 artifacts from their collection. The Severis collection, which numbered over 2,500 items, was housed in their private museum in Nicosia.

Leto was a member of many societies, including "Friends of the Cyprus Museum" and "Friends of Archeology," which helped organize exhibitions of her collection. In the following years, she suffered a lethal accident, leaving the collection to their son Demosthenis.

In 2009, with the help of the A.G. Leventis Foundation, Demosthenis Severis offered the entire collection on long-term loan to the Municipal Museum of Nicosia, where it remains to this day.