Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

over 1,200 Cypriot objects survive (war losses), from the Early Bronze Age to Roman times; mostly limestone sculpture, pottery and terracottas, with jewellery, lamps, bronzes, metalwork, stone tools and vessels and spindle whorls. Recke notes that Berlin is the German museum that also excavated in Cyprus; 'well over 2000' Cypriot objects came in within a few years of 1887 under Ohnefalsch-Richter (some since lost or dispersed). (2012)

Recke 2012, p. 92Recke 2012, p. 93Recke 2012, p. 107

1. 1830
   The Berlin museum, which already held some Cypriot antiquities by this time, is described as founded in 1830 (Masson's wording for the Berlin museums before Friederichs' 1869 journey).

   Masson 1996

2. 1845
   Ludwig Ross, travelling in Cyprus (16 February to 26 March 1845), acquires antiquities for the Berlin museums (from Dali and Kition) and mediates the purchase of the Sargon II stele from Kition.

   LarnacaLudwig RossRecke 2012, p. 90Recke 2012, p. 107Merrillees 2016

3. August 1846
   The Königliche Museen buy the Sargon II stele found at Larnaca in late 1845 (Berlin purchase price 3000 florins, total cost with transport 2844 thalers; the Prussian consular agent had paid 7000 francs according to another account). It is the first Assyrian monument to enter the Berlin museums and is now in the Vorderasiatisches Museum (VA 968), not the Antikensammlung.

   LarnacaJacob MatteiLudwig RossMerrillees 2016

4. 1852
   Julius August Schönborn gives c. 20 vases and terracottas and a bronze satyr statuette from his Cyprus journey.

   Julius August SchönbornRecke 2012, p. 90Recke 2012, p. 107

5. 1868–1871
   Carl Friederichs is director of the Antiquarium (Masson dates his directorship from 1868).

   Karl (Carl) FriederichsMasson 1996Bernhard-Walcher et al. 1999, p. 39

6. 1869
   Friederichs, sent to Cyprus with the help of the American ambassador George Bancroft (Masson), buys from Luigi Palma di Cesnola at Larnaca: about 180 objects (Recke) or c. 200 (Vienna catalogue, citing Friederichs), from Alambra, Idalion, Ornidia and Salamis.

   LarnacaKarl (Carl) FriederichsLuigi Palma di CesnolaRecke 2012, p. 91Recke 2012, p. 107Masson 1996Bernhard-Walcher et al. 1999, p. 39

7. 1870
   Friederichs buys from the Pierides collection at Larnaca.

   LarnacaKarl (Carl) FriederichsRecke 2012, p. 107

8. 1874
   Purchase from the Schröder collection.

   Schröder (Slg. Schröder)Recke 2012, p. 107

9. 1878
   Purchases from the collections of H. (R. H.) Lang of Larnaca (including a Late Cypriot askos with animal protome), of Albert Barré, and of Cesnola (from Paphos).

   Robert Hamilton LangAlbert BarreLuigi Palma di CesnolaRecke 2012, p. 107Karageorghis et al. 2014, p. 3

10. 1884
    Purchases from the Sabouroff and Castellani collections.

    SabouroffAlessandro CastellaniRecke 2012, p. 107

11. 1885
    Adolf Furtwängler's Beschreibung der Vasensammlung im Antiquarium (Berlin 1885), the catalogue that includes the Cypriot vases (e.g. nos. 71 and 72, ex-Cesnola).

    Adolf FurtwänglerRecke 2012, p. 107Masson 1996, pl. III

12. 1885–1886
    Ohnefalsch-Richter and C. Christian's 'Ausgrabungsgesellschaft' excavate the Marion necropoleis for Charles Watkins of the Imperial Ottoman Bank (not for Berlin). Berlin later buys about 300 of the finds at a Paris auction (1887); Lewandowski counts 227 Marion objects in the Berlin collection plus many sherds.

    MarionMax Ohnefalsch-RichterCharles F. WatkinsViola LewandowskiRecke 2012, p. 93Karageorghis et al. 2014, p. 4Buchholz 1989

13. 1887
    Ohnefalsch-Richter sells about 500 objects from the Aphrodite sanctuary at Idalion, excavated for Charles Watkins, to the Berlin museums. In the same year about 300 Cypriot objects from the Marion necropolis are bought at a Paris art auction.

    IdalionMax Ohnefalsch-RichterCharles F. WatkinsRecke 2012, p. 93Recke 2012, p. 107

14. 1887–1890
    Further purchases of Ohnefalsch-Richter's excavation finds from Amathus, Katydhata-Linou, Ayios Sozomenos, Ayios Nikolides, Tamassos (Ayios Mnason and Lambertis); also finds from Golgoi, Lapithos, Lapithos-Krini and Salamis.

    Max Ohnefalsch-RichterRecke 2012, p. 107Buchholz 1989

15. 1888
    Ohnefalsch-Richter brokers the sale to Berlin of about 170 objects from a sanctuary near Limniti, found by looters (not his own excavation).

    LimnitiMax Ohnefalsch-RichterRecke 2012, p. 93Buchholz 1989

16. February 1889
    Richard Schöne, director general of the Berlin museums, writes (7 February 1889) to the Chief Secretary Col. Warren: the Royal Museums have a permit to excavate at Dali (Idalion). Howorth protests at the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies and the Cyprus Exploration Fund committee is to inquire. The Berlin agent Samuel Brown, later A. F. G. Law, handles the matter. On 5 April 1889 Law reports Schöne wants no excavation at Dali unless the particular spot (the eastern acropolis) is permitted.

    DaliRichard SchöneFalkland WarrenHoworthSamuel BrownA. F. G. LawSchmid 2025, p. 73Schmid 2025, p. 76

17. 1889
    Excavations at Tamassos by Ohnefalsch-Richter on behalf of the Royal Prussian Museums in Berlin (the 'royal tombs' at Chomazoudia, the sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods and the Apollo sanctuary), at times assisted by Adolf Furtwängler. About 800 objects reach Berlin. Furtwängler is sent to oversee the partition of finds; Wilhelm Dörpfeld visits in early 1890.

    TamassosMax Ohnefalsch-RichterAdolf FurtwänglerWilhelm DörpfeldRichard SchöneRecke 2012, p. 93Schmid 2025, p. 72Schmid 2025, p. 76Buchholz 1989Masson & Hermary 1988

18. 1893
    Gift of E. Ross; purchase of the Talbot Ready collection.

    E. RossWilliam Talbot ReadyRecke 2012, p. 107

19. 1893
    Emperor Wilhelm II grants substantial funding to Ohnefalsch-Richter for a new Cyprus campaign, with Furtwängler asked to oversee it; Rudolf Virchow and Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen belong to the supporting network.

    Kaiser Wilhelm IIMax Ohnefalsch-RichterAdolf FurtwänglerRudolf VirchowPrince Bernhard of Saxe-MeiningenSchmid 2025, p. 77

20. 1894
    Berlin-financed excavations at Idalion by Ohnefalsch-Richter, with Furtwängler present in 1894; about 300 objects reach Berlin. Finds in Berlin include an almost life-size enthroned goddess with a sphinx, a torso and a crowned female head (the Prussian Government's share), a votive stele and capital fragments, and gold breastplates from a tomb. Ohnefalsch-Richter's own account appeared in The Times, 7 November 1894.

    IdalionMax Ohnefalsch-RichterAdolf FurtwänglerRobert BosseRecke 2012, p. 93Masson & Hermary 1988Schmid 2025, p. 77

21. 1894
    Excavations with Virchow-Stiftung funds in the Lambertis necropolis at Tamassos; the finds are now in Bonn and in the Antikensammlung (and in Nicosia and Cambridge).

    TamassosMax Ohnefalsch-RichterRudolf VirchowRecke 2012, p. 93

22. 1910
    A permit for fieldwork at Rantidi is granted (22 August 1910) to Robert Zahn, assistant keeper of the Berlin Museum, for the ad hoc Cyprus Committee of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences; fieldwork 30 August to 7 October 1910. As finds could no longer be exported, no follow-up or preliminary report followed.

    RantidiRobert ZahnHatton RichardsSchmid 2025, p. 78

23. 1913
    Gift of the F. L. von Gans collection.

    F. L. von GansRecke 2012, p. 107

24. 1936–1937
    Purchase of about 150 objects, mostly vases, from Michael Kantsantonos (spelt Kouzantonos in Recke's list).

    Michael KantsantonosRecke 2012, p. 98Recke 2012, p. 107

25. 1945
    Wartime losses and Soviet removals: numerous Cypriot objects are destroyed in the Second World War, and a substantial number are taken by departing Soviet forces in 1945 to the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow.

    Merrillees 2012, p. 4

26. 1958
    Some of the objects taken to Moscow are returned to East Berlin; a not insignificant quantity remains in Moscow, where some were shown in 2005 in an exhibition on the Archaeology of War.

    Merrillees 2012, p. 4

27. 1960
    Purchase of gold jewellery on the art market (listed as 'KH' in Recke's origin list).

    Recke 2012, p. 107

28. 1971
    Temporary exhibition 'Schätze aus Zypern. Kunst aus acht Jahrtausenden' in Berlin, including Berlin holdings.

    Recke 2012, p. 107Merrillees 2012, p. 4

29. 1998
    A temporary exhibition including some Berlin Cypriot holdings.

    Merrillees 2012, p. 4

30. 2001
    Ancient Cypriote Art in Berlin (Antikensammlung, Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Münzkabinett), published by the A. G. Leventis Foundation and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, at Vassos Karageorghis's initiative, with the first modern gallery of the material; a second, German edition follows as Antike Kunst aus Zypern (2002).

    Sylvia BrehmeVassos KarageorghisGertrud Platz-HorsterMelitta BrönnerBernhard WeisserBrehme et al. 2001, p. 1Rupp 2003, p. 103Merrillees 2012, p. 3

31. 2005
    The Berlin Museums publish a catalogue of wartime losses that includes the Cypriote antiquities.

    Merrillees 2012, p. 4

32. 2012
    Merrillees publishes a catalogue of the 'Ochsenkrater-Grab' from Nicosia-Ayia Paraskevi (Uppsala); the Classical bronzes including Cypriote are on the museums' online inventory and the sculptures are expected online in summer 2013.

    Robert Stuart MerrilleesMerrillees 2012, p. 3

33. 8 May 2013
    One-day conference 'Cypriote Antiquities in Berlin: In the Focus of New Research', organised by the Cypriot-German Cultural Association for its 35th anniversary with the Antikensammlung; guided tours of the Cypriote galleries in the Neues Museum and Altes Museum. Only a small proportion of the material is on permanent show in the Cyprus gallery of the Neues Museum.

    Andreas SchollAndreas K. SpyridakisVassos KarageorghisRobert Stuart MerrilleesHartmut MatthäusMerrillees 2012, p. 3Merrillees 2012, p. 4

34. 2014
    Proceedings published as Cypriote Antiquities in Berlin in the Focus of New Research (eds Karageorghis, Poyiadji-Richter, Rogge; Münster Institute for Interdisciplinary Cypriot Studies), ten articles including Merrillees (Lang askos), Papasavvas (bronze stand), Karageorghis (pictorial-style vases), Matthäus (Tamassos metal finds), Lewandowski (Marion), Senff, Poyiadji-Richter, Rogge/Zachariou-Kaila and Koiner (sculpture). Scholl describes the 'reunification' of the Cypriote collection in the Neues Museum.

    Elena Poyiadji-RichterSabine RoggeEftychia Zachariou-KailaGeorge PapasavvasViola LewandowskiReinhard SenffGabriele KoinerHartmut MatthäusRobert Stuart MerrilleesAndreas SchollKarageorghis et al. 2014, p. 3Karageorghis et al. 2014, p. 4

• Bronze mirror with the facade of the temple of Paphos, ex-Cesnola (sale 1892, lot 284, bought by Ready)

  8394from Paphosvia William Talbot Ready1893Masson 1996

• Mycenaean IIIB 'Ochsenkrater' from the Ayia Paraskevi (Ledrai) tomb group

  Misc. 8103,1from Nicosia-Ayia ParaskeviBerlin n.d.Merrillees 2012, p. 3

• Red Polished III bowl from the Ayia Paraskevi tomb group

  Misc. 8103,35from Nicosia-Ayia ParaskeviBerlin n.d.

• Bronze sceptre ornament, last quarter of the 7th century BC, from section IV grave 12 ('Königsgrab' XI)

  Misc. 8142,622from Tamassos (Chomazoudia)Berlin n.d.Karageorghis et al. 2014, p. 3

• Bronze wheeled cauldron stand (Kesselwagen), Late Cypriot III, provenance Kition?

  Misc. 8947from Kition?Berlin n.d.

• Late Cypriot askos with animal protome (Merrillees, 2014)

  via Robert Hamilton Lang1878Karageorghis et al. 2014, p. 3Recke 2012, p. 107

• Colossal female limestone head with mural crown found by Cesnola at Leucolla (Rogge and Zachariou-Kaila 2014)

  from Leucollavia Luigi Palma di CesnolaKarageorghis et al. 2014, p. 4

• Almost life-size enthroned goddess with sphinx, archaic limestone, from the Aphrodite sanctuary rampart at Idalion

  from Idalionvia Max Ohnefalsch-Richter1894Masson & Hermary 1988

• Votive stele with volute capital from the Idalion Aphrodite sanctuary

  from Idalionvia Max Ohnefalsch-Richter1894Masson & Hermary 1988

• Bichrome vases from Dali (Idalion) bought from Cesnola in 1869 (Furtwängler 71 and 72)

  from Dalivia Luigi Palma di Cesnola1869Masson 1996, pl. III