Ancient CyprusAncient Cyprus

Excavator · Collector · Consul / diplomat · Cataloguer

Alessandro (Alexander) Palma di Cesnola

1840–1914 · Italy

Younger brother of Luigi who dug at Salamis and Enkomi from 1876, was convicted of illicit excavation in October 1878, and saw his collection sold at Sotheby's in four sales from 1883.

Alessandro (Alexander) Palma di Cesnola

Biography

In October 1878 the new British administration of Cyprus convicted Alessandro Palma di Cesnola of illicit excavation, and the finds seized from him formed the proposed nucleus of a Cyprus Museum, while the rest of his Salamis and Enkomi collection went to London and was sold at Sotheby's3. He was the youngest brother of Luigi Palma di Cesnola. Alessandro's own notice gives his birth as 26 December 1840 at Rivarolo Canavese, near Turin, the seventh and last child of Maurizio Palma di Cesnola; Masson and Stanley-Price give 1839 instead1,3,4.

From the Bersaglieri to Paphos

By his own account he joined the Bersaglieri in 1855, served in the Crimea and in the wars of 1859 and 1866, and retired as a captain in 1869. He then went to South America, where he took part in an expedition in the Plata and Mato Grosso region and held a rank in the Uruguayan army1. In April 1873 he sailed to New York and went on to Cyprus with Luigi. In July 1873 Luigi asked the State Department to appoint him consular agent at Paphos, and the request was approved within two days3,8. Later writers, and his own 1884 notice, call him vice-consul. Stanley-Price, working from State Department records, shows that the post was that of consular agent, that no exequatur is recorded for it, and that his American citizenship was never established. The consulate was abolished in 18763.

He lived at Larnaca and rented a house at Ormidia from Nicolaos Vondiziano3. Late in 1874 or 1875 he left Cyprus, on Stanley-Price's account against his will and for reasons that are not disclosed. In London he studied at the British Museum, met Samuel Birch and found a backer in the financier Edwin Henry Lawrence1,3.

Salamis and Enkomi

He returned to Cyprus on 22 July 1876 and dug on his own account with Lawrence's money. Hadjicosti places him at Ormidia and Xylotymbou in 1876 and at Rizokarpaso in 18771,10. At Kourion he stopped work in 1877, according to Stanley-Price, after opposition from villagers and an Ottoman complaint to the Italian government9. In November 1877 a workman brought him finds from Salamis, and he moved all his diggers there; he wrote later that his collection at that date was not a third of what it became. He applied at Constantinople for a firman, received no positive answer and dug without one, and he gave this as the reason he obtained few large sculptures1. About sixty men worked at Enkomi for six months under his servant Lazaris Philippi3. He put the total at 14,000 objects and said that he had sold none, only given some to visitors1,3. In 1877 he gave a small collection to the Societa Piemontese di Archeologia e Belle Arti in Turin4.

The trial of 1878

Sir Garnet Wolseley banned excavation in August 1878, possibly at the prompting of Charles Newton at the British Museum. Alessandro went to Nicosia, was told by Colonel Greaves that digging was forbidden, and carried on3. Achilleus Vondiziano of Ormidia reported him on 2 October, and Lieutenant Spencer seized finds at Enkomi on 4 October. Alessandro gave himself up at Larnaca on 6 October and spent the night in the konak. He then wrote to the American consul at Beirut as "Late Vice-Consul at Papho, and Acting Consul". Wolseley thought that William Hepworth Dixon, a friend who had stayed with him at Ormidia, had drafted the letter3.

The case was heard before the Mejlis-i-Daavi at Larnaca, with the assessor H. G. White presiding, Henry Brackenbury prosecuting and Claude Delaval Cobham interpreting; Alessandro had asked for Italian. He was found guilty and fined four liras, which Wolseley remitted, and the antiquities were confiscated. More than 1,500 further items were removed from the Ormidia house after the verdict. He said that only 36 of the objects were his and the rest his brother's, which Stanley-Price reads as an attempt to minimise his share3. The confiscated finds were proposed as the nucleus of a Cyprus Museum but stayed for about eleven years in White's and then Cobham's house, and some later went to the museum3,9. He left Cyprus on a Lloyd steamer in February 1879 and did not return1.

London and the sales

He reached London on 22 May 1879, and the collection was arranged in two rooms of Lawrence's house at 84 Holland Park. That year he married Augusta, Lawrence's younger daughter1,4. A photographic album of the collection, with photographs by Henri Claudet, appeared in 1880 and again in 1881, and Salaminia followed in 1882, with a second edition in 1884 and an Italian edition in 18872,4.

In May 1880 he wrote to the British Museum offering his services. Newton advised the Trustees against, on grounds of cost and because he hoped that Kitchener would excavate; Stanley-Price adds that Newton was sympathetic to his account of the events of 18783,6. In 1881 the South Kensington Museum offered six small cases, which he declined, and his proposal to lend most of the collection to the British Museum was not concluded1.

Lawrence then consigned the collection to Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, which sold it on 1 June 1883, 15 May 1884, 12 March 1888 and, after Lawrence's death in 1891, on 25 April 1892, 3,463 lots in all3,4. Pitt Rivers bought 693 items, and other buyers included Rollin of Feuardent, Ready, Mason, Jackson, Dana Estes and William Ransom4,5. The British Museum bought ten inscribed stones directly from Lawrence in April 18844. Masson puts the total proceeds at 975 pounds, Ulbrich and Kiely at about 2,5004,5. The catalogue of 1892 credits the contents to General Cesnola and omits Alessandro's name4.

Masson and Ulbrich and Kiely describe the collection as disparate and commercial in aim, and Ulbrich and Kiely explain the failure of the British Museum and South Kensington to buy it by its mixed archaeological value. Barker and Merrillees call both brothers "opportunistic plunderers"5,7. Pieces from the sales are now in the British Museum (accession numbers 1884,0419.1-10 and 1892.5-19.1), the Antikensammlung in Berlin, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Pitt Rivers Museum and the Ashmolean, Bowdoin College in Maine and the Nicholson Museum in Sydney4,7.

From about 1884 he lived in Italy, at Florence. His preface says that a royal decree of 5 December 1883 named him a major in the Italian army, and that he was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London1,4. He died in 1914. A small collection of Cypriot objects stayed in the family4.

Life and work

  1. 1855
    Enrolled in the 5th Battalion of Bersaglieri; served in the Crimea and in the wars of 1859 and 1866 (self-reported biography).

    Cesnola 1884

  2. 1869
    Retired from the army; went to South America in March 1870 (Buenos Aires, Montevideo, the Paraguay and Mato Grosso expedition).

    Cesnola 1884

  3. April 1873
    Resigned in Uruguay, sailed to New York, spent three months there with Luigi, then left with him for Cyprus.

    New YorkCesnola 1884Stanley-Price 2018

  4. July 1873
    Luigi asked the State Department to appoint Alessandro US Consular Agent at Paphos; approved within two days. Luigi wrote that he 'has declared his intention to become an American citizen'.

    WashingtonMarangou 2000Stanley-Price 2018

  5. 1875–1876
    Left Cyprus (late 1874 or late 1875; 'against his will' on Stanley-Price's account, for undisclosed reasons) and spent the months until mid-1876 in London studying Cypriot archaeology at the British Museum, where he met Samuel Birch; found Edwin H. Lawrence as sponsor.

    LondonCesnola 1884Stanley-Price 2018

  6. 22 July 1876
    Returned to Cyprus; for six months acted for the absent Luigi until the US consulate was abolished; then dug on his own account, funded by Lawrence.

    LarnacaCesnola 1884Hadjicosti 2001

  7. 1877
    Gave a small collection to the Societa Piemontese di Archeologia e Belle Arti, transferred to the Museo di Antichita, Turin.

    TurinMasson 1996

  8. November 1877
    After a workman brought finds from Salamis, moved all his diggers there; the Salamis tombs produced most of what became the Lawrence-Cesnola collection (his own account: 'not a third' of the collection existed before this).

    SalamisCesnola 1884Stanley-Price 2018

  9. 1877
    NamedOfficial complaint by the Ottoman authorities to the Italian government about his activities (Curium); reported by Stanley-Price 2001 from Cesnola's own statement.

    Tatton-Brown 2001Cesnola 1884

  10. 4 October 1878
    Lt E. Spencer, acting on orders from Greaves, went to Enkomi and seized pottery and glass in Panagia Hadji Cristofi's house; later removed over 1,500 items from the Ormidia house.

    EnkomiStanley-Price 2018

  11. 6 October 1878
    Formally arrested at Commissioner White's house in Larnaca, held overnight in the konak; wrote to the US consul at Beirut as 'Late Vice-Consul at Papho, and Acting Consul in Cyprus'.

    LarnacaStanley-Price 2018

  12. October 1878
    Tried before the Mejlis-i-Daavi court at Larnaca (Assessor H. G. White, Brackenbury prosecuting, C. D. Cobham interpreting); found guilty under Art. 7 of the 1874 Ottoman antiquities law; fined four liras (remitted by Wolseley) and the antiquities seized at Enkomi and Ormidia confiscated.

    LarnacaStanley-Price 2018

  13. October 1878
    ConvictedRegina v. Cesnola: tried at the Mejlis-i-Daavi court, Larnaca, for excavating at Enkomi/Salamis without a firman or permit in breach of Art. 7 of the 1874 Ottoman antiquities law and of the High Commissioner's August 1878 ban; found guilty, fined four liras (remitted by Wolseley), antiquities confiscated.

    Stanley-Price 2018Tatton-Brown 2001

  14. December 1878
    NamedSir Charles Dilke asked in the House of Commons about 'Mr de Cesnola, an American citizen', tried for digging without a firman; the Under-Secretary confirmed the fine and confiscation.

    Tatton-Brown 2001Stanley-Price 2018

  15. February 1879
    Left Cyprus by Lloyd steamer and never returned; reached London 22 May 1879.

    Cesnola 1884Stanley-Price 2018

  16. 1879
    Married Augusta, younger daughter of Edwin H. Lawrence.

    LondonCesnola 1884Masson 1996

  17. 1880–1881
    Published the photographic album 'Cyprus Antiquities' (Lawrence-Cesnola Collection), photographed by Henri Claudet; two states, 1880 and 1881 (62 plates per Stanley-Price).

    LondonMasson 1996Stanley-Price 2018

  18. May 1880
    Wrote to the British Museum offering his experience; asked for the equivalent of a Keeper's salary; Newton advised the Trustees against.

    LondonKiely 2010Stanley-Price 2018

  19. 1881
    Donated Cypriot objects to the Museo Craniologico of the Accademia di Medicina, Turin (Nota of 1881).

    TurinMarangou 2000

  20. 1881–1882
    Offered to exhibit the collection at the South Kensington Museum (offered six small cases, declined) and to lend most of it to the British Museum (not concluded).

    LondonCesnola 1884

  21. 1882
    Published Salaminia (Cyprus): the History, Treasures and Antiquities of Salamis (Trubner, 1882); second revised edition with biographical notice and Birch introduction 1884; Italian edition 'Salamina (Cipro)' 1887.

    LondonCesnola 1884Masson 1996Alessandro Palma di Cesnola

  22. 1 June 1883
    First of four Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge sales of the Lawrence-Cesnola collection (property of E. H. Lawrence); further sales 15 May 1884, 12 March 1888 and 25 April 1892.

    LondonMasson 1996Tatton-Brown 2001

  23. 1884
    Left England and settled in Italy (Florence); in Turin by 1884 and elected to the Philotechnic Society.

    Masson 1996Cesnola 1884

Through their hands

57 records

Came from

Own excavations×59
Adrien Santi Mattei
Sellers not named1877 ×4
Sources not named1877 ×2
An ignorant stonecutter
The man excavating there for me
The man who was excavating there for me
The workmen
Workmen
Alessandro (Alexander) Palma di Cesnola

Went to

1877Museo di Antichità di Torino
1877Royal Museum of Antiquities
1877Société Piémontaise d'archéologie et Beaux-arts
1884British Museum
1893Berlin Museums
Ariodante Fabretti
Edwin Henry Lawrence
Michael Soutsos
Royal Academy of Medicine

and 7 more in the ledger

SaleGift or bequestPassed onWho objects came from and went to, as the sources record it
  1. 1876–1877

    ExportAlessandro di Cesnola shipped a large number of antiquities from Cyprus to London.

    Pilides 2008, p. 7

  2. 1876

    RecordAlexander continued the same style of antiquities operations in and about Salamis.

    Tatton-Brown 2001, p. 266

  3. 1877

    GiftAlessandro Palma di Cesnola donated ceramics, lamps, and glass items to the Royal Museum of Antiquities through the Piedmontese Society.

    Gave to Royal Museum of Antiquitiesabout 200 ceramic vases and lamps, and about fifty glass itemsBombardieri & Panero 2021, p. 23

  4. 1877

    GiftAlessandro gave a small collection of antiquities to the Société Piémontaise d'archéologie et Beaux-arts.

    Gave to Société Piémontaise d'archéologie et Beaux-artsa small collection of Cypriot antiquitiesTurinMasson 1996, p. 10Soldi 2025, p. 98Stanley-Price 2018, p. 312

  5. 1877

    GiftAlexander gave fifty glass objects from Salamis tombs to the museum in Turin.

    Gave to Museo di Antichità di Torinofifty glass objects from tombs excavated at SalamisLightfoot 2017, p. 20

  6. 1877

    PurchaseCesnola bought four inscribed stones at a village near Paphos-Nova.

    Cesnola 1884, p. xvi

  7. 1877

    AcquisitionCesnola obtained a three-line Cypriote inscription at a village near Paphos-Nova.

    a beautiful Cypriote inscription of three linesCesnola 1884, p. xvi

  8. 1878

    SeizureMany of Alessandro Palma di Cesnola's finds were confiscated, ending his activity on the island.

    many of his findsCyprusBombardieri & Panero 2021, p. 22Given 2001, p. 256

  9. 1878

    SeizureThe antiquities Cesnola had dug up at Enkomi and Ormidia were confiscated at his trial.

    all the antiquities he had dug up at Enkomi and OrmidiaLarnacaHill 1952, p. 608Tatton-Brown 2001, p. 269

  10. 1878

    SeizureAfter his Enkomi excavations, all of Alessandro di Cesnola's finds were confiscated; his £4 fine was later remitted.

    all of his findsPilides 2008, p. 7

  11. 1881

    NoteCesnola offered to exhibit the collection at the South Kensington Museum, but declined after the authorities offered six small cases.

    Connected with South Kensington MuseumCesnola 1882, p. xixCesnola 1884, p. xix

  12. 1883–1888

    NoteAlessandro Palma di Cesnola sold antiquities at Sotheby's in partnership with Edwin Henry Lawrence.

    Connected with Edwin Henry LawrenceCypriot antiquitiesSotheby's, LondonReeve & Waite 2020Ulbrich & Kiely 2012, p. 327

Show 45 more
  1. 1883–1892

    DispersalObjects obtained from Alessandro Palma di Cesnola’s excavations were sold in a series of auctions at Sotheby’s in London.

    With unnamed auction buyersobjects obtained from his excavations in CyprusReeve 2021, p. 79

  2. 1883–1888

    AuctionObjects collected by Alessandro Palma di Cesnola and some collected by his brother were sold at Sotheby's.

    Cypriot antiquities, including objects collected by Luigi Palma di CesnolaSotheby's, LondonReeve & Waite 2020

  3. 1883–1892

    AuctionThe Lawrence-Cesnola collection was sold in four lots between 1883 and 1892.

    With unnamed buyersLawrence-Cesnola collection of more than 14,000 objectsaround £2500Ulbrich & Kiely 2012, p. 328

  4. 1884

    TransferprobablyThe inscribed stones purchased by Alessandro di Cesnola were eventually acquired by the British Museum.

    Passed objects to British Museuminscribed stones found in clandestine excavations near PolisChilds et al. 2012, p. 28

  5. 1892

    AuctionA further sale of Cesnola antiquities took place in 1892 after Edwin Henry Lawrence’s death.

    Cypriot antiquitiesSotheby's, LondonReeve & Waite 2020

  6. 1893

    SalepossiblyThe jug from the Alexander Palma di Cesnola Collection was bought by the Berlin Museums at a London auction.

    Sold to Berlin MuseumsBlack-on-Red II (IV) ware jugKarageorghis 2011, p. 173

  7. n.d.

    GiftpossiblyThe authors tentatively identified a final donation by Alessandro Palma di Cesnola, including skulls from Salamina and Paphos.

    Gave to Royal Academy of Medicinea series of skulls from Salamina and PaphosSalamina; PaphosBombardieri & Cannavò 2016, p. 40

  8. n.d.

    TransferCesnola packed unearthed relics for conveyance to Lawrence in England and dispatched them in his first cargo.

    Passed objects to Edwin Henry Lawrencethe relics which had then been unearthedCesnola 1882, p. xvStanley-Price 2018, p. 312

  9. n.d.

    NoteEdwin H. Laurence became the de facto co-owner of Alessandro Palma di Cesnola's collection.

    Connected with Edwin Henry LawrenceBombardieri & Panero 2021, p. 22

  10. n.d.

    TransferpossiblyMichael Soutsos may have acquired his collection from Cesnola.

    Passed objects to Michael SoutsosLund 2015, p. 302

  11. n.d.

    PurchaseAlexander Palma di Cesnola bought a glass vessel belonging to “M. Mattei, de Larnaca”.

    Bought from Adrien Santi Matteicylindrical glass vessel with a Greek inscriptionMerrillees 2016, p. 366

  12. n.d.

    AgencyAlessandro Palma di Cesnola returned to Cyprus to acquire antiquities for Edwin H Lawrence.

    Agent for Edwin Henry LawrenceStanley-Price 2018, p. 301

  13. n.d.

    SeizureSpencer seized pottery and glass objects found in Panagia’s house during his investigation.

    Had antiquities seized by E. SpencerPanagia's house, EnkomiStanley-Price 2018, p. 305Stanley-Price 2018, p. 312

  14. n.d.

    GiftCesnola gave three tablets without precise provenance to Senator Fabretti of Turin.

    Gave to Ariodante FabrettiWilburn 2012, p. 202

  15. n.d.

    PurchaseCesnola bought ancient Greek glass from the man excavating for him at Salamis.

    With the man who was excavating there for meCesnola 1882, p. xvii

  16. n.d.

    PurchaseCesnola bought four inscribed stones at a village near Paphos-Nova.

    Cesnola 1882, p. xvi

  17. n.d.

    PurchaseCesnola paid workmen for objects they had found, at a rate fixed beforehand by his foreman and the workmen.

    With the workmenantiquities found by the workmenCesnola 1882, p. xv

  18. n.d.

    ExportCesnola dispatched his first cargo of six large cases of relics in an Austrian Lloyd's steamer.

    EnglandCesnola 1882, p. xv

  19. n.d.

    GiftCesnola presented many antiquities, principally to English and American visitors passing through Cyprus.

    With English and American visitorsCesnola 1882, p. xix

  20. n.d.

    CollectionCesnola gathered a collection of engraved cones and signets from the tombs of Salamis.

    Cesnola 1882, p. 130

  21. n.d.

    ExportCesnola sent six cases of excavated antiquities from Cyprus toward London.

    six large cases of antiquitiesCyprus to London, via Alexandria and LiverpoolCesnola 1884, p. xv

  22. n.d.

    PurchaseCesnola bought ancient Greek glass from a man excavating at Salamis for him.

    With the man excavating there for meCesnola 1884, p. xvii

  23. n.d.

    PurchaseCesnola paid the workmen for objects they found at a rate fixed in advance.

    With workmenobjects found by the workmenCyprusCesnola 1884, p. xv

  24. n.d.

    OfferpossiblyCesnola agreed to offer the collection to England before any other country if it proved sufficiently important.

    With Englanda collection of antiquitiesCesnola 1884, p. xii

  25. n.d.

    GiftCesnola presented antiquities to visiting English and American visitors in Cyprus.

    With English and American visitorsmany antiquitiesCesnola 1884, p. xix

  26. n.d.

    AcquisitionAlexander Palma di Cesnola secured the statuette for his collection while a stonecutter was damaging it.

    With an ignorant stonecutterCesnola 1884, p. 92

  27. n.d.

    CollectionAlexander Palma di Cesnola gathered a collection of antiquities from the tombs of Salamis.

    antiquities gathered from the tombs of SalamisCesnola 1884, p. 130

  28. n.d.

    SeizureAntiquities from storehouses in Enkomi and Ormidia were confiscated after Alessandro was tried.

    Christofi 2024, p. 115

  29. n.d.

    PurchaseAlessandro Palma di Cesnola purchased materials at sites in Cyprus.

    Salamis, Timbu, Ormideia, Kourion, Soli, Paphos, Limassol and MarionBombardieri & Panero 2021, p. 22

  30. n.d.

    ExportAlessandro brought many of his finds to London, where the collection became known as the Lawrence-Cesnola collection.

    Gatzsche 2023, p. 22

  31. n.d.

    AcquisitionAlessandro Palma di Cesnola acquired a funerary relief from Tremithousha.

    relief funéraire du début de l’époque impérialeNo. British Museum, C 431Hermary 2004, p. 50

  32. n.d.

    RecordCesnola reported extracting glassware, sepulchral bas-reliefs and Roman-period pottery from the necropolis at Tremetousha.

    glassware, sepulchral bas-reliefs and pottery of the Roman periodTremetousha/TrémithousHermary 2004, p. 50

  33. n.d.

    CollectionThe handleless bowls were previously owned by A. Palma di Cesnola.

    No. 4039, 4066Lund 2015, p. 282

  34. n.d.

    SeizureScott-Stevenson reported that his discoveries were confiscated and held at the Commissioner's house.

    LarnacaMarangou 2000, p. 351

  35. n.d.

    TransferAlessandro sent most of his collection to London before the British arrived in Cyprus.

    Masson 1996, p. 18

  36. n.d.

    PurchaseAlexander di Cesnola bought two jars at Idalium.

    Richter 1884, p. 103

  37. n.d.

    ExportA second shipment of relics reached England; some were confiscated and stored in the Commissioner's house in Larnaca.

    a mass of relicsPilides 2008, p. 7

  38. n.d.

    CollectionThe Ormidia house contained large quantities of antiquities associated with Alessandro Palma di Cesnola.

    antiquities held at the Ormidia houseStanley-Price 2018, p. 311

  39. n.d.

    SeizureBritish authorities seized antiquities stored at Enkomi and Ormidia.

    pottery, glass and other antiquitiesStanley-Price 2018, p. 312

  40. n.d.

    ExportThe first shipment of antiquities left for London in the winter of 1876–7.

    first shipment ('six large cases')Stanley-Price 2018, p. 312

  41. n.d.

    GiftAlessandro Palma di Cesnola said he gave antiquities to visitors.

    With visitorsStanley-Price 2018, p. 312

  42. n.d.

    GiftAlessandro Palma di Cesnola donated some antiquities to members of his family in Italy.

    With members of his familyStanley-Price 2018, p. 312

  43. n.d.

    SeizurePolice removed over 1,500 items from the Ormidia house after the trial.

    over 1,500 antiquitiesStanley-Price 2018, p. 312

  44. n.d.

    CollectionpossiblyAlessandro Palma di Cesnola was associated with a private collection preserved by his family in Florence.

    the private collection of Alessandro Palma di CesnolaSteele 2013, p. 7

  45. n.d.

    SeizureAlexander was tried and sentenced to a fine and confiscation of objects he had found; the fine was later remitted.

    With district court in LarnacaLarnacaTatton-Brown 2001, p. 20

Excavations

3 projects

In the field

75 records

Where they worked in the field

  • Ground above 200, 500, 1,000 m

Sites

  1. 1Salamis
  2. 2Kourion
  3. 3Ormideia
  4. 4Ormidhia
  5. 5Enkomi
  6. 6Palaepaphos (Kouklia)
  7. 7Idalion
  8. 8Kition
  9. 9Tremetousia (approx.)
  10. 10Tremithous (Tremetousia) (approx.)
Modern coastline (OpenStreetMap) and relief (Copernicus DEM). Tap or hover a site for what the sources record there.

Cyprus

1870–1881

Salamis

1870–1879

especially the area around Salamis

1876

  • Excavated · 1876Alessandro Palma di Cesnola resumed large-scale clearing of ancient tombs and sites, especially around Salamis, in 1876.

    Barker & Merrillees 2017, p. 52

Kourion

1876–1877

  • Directed excavations · 1876Cesnola sent two parties of five men to dig at Kurium and Soli; they returned with few finds.

    Cesnola 1882, p. xvCesnola 1884, p. xv

  • Excavated · 1877Alessandro di Cesnola said he stopped digging at Curium because local villagers opposed his work.

    antiquitiesTatton-Brown 2001, p. 269

  • ExcavatedMajor di Cesnola unearthed numerous statue fragments near the temple of Apollo at Kurium.

    fragments of statuesCesnola 1881

  • FoundA. P. di Cesnola found two vessels in the ground at Kurium.

    two archaic insular-style vesselsNo. figs. 281–282Cesnola 1882, p. 235Cesnola 1882, p. 236

  • ExcavatedCesnola dug at Kurium with ten men and recovered ornaments and other relics.

    gold and silver objects, fibulae, rings, earrings, and a necklaceCesnola 1884, p. xvii

  • FoundCesnola found two archaic-style vessels in the ground at Kurium.

    Two archaic vesselsCesnola 1884, p. 235Cesnola 1884, p. 236

near the ruins of Salamis

1876

  • Excavated · 1876Cesnola dug near the ruins of Salamis with the aid of natives from two villages.

    Cesnola 1882, p. xiii

Ormideia

1876–1877

  • Surveyed · 1876Alexander Palma di Cesnola explored the area of Ormideia and Xylotymbou.

    Hadjicosti 2001, p. 54

  • Surveyed · 1876–1877Alexander explored Ormideia and Xylotymbou in 1876, and Rizokarpaso in 1877.

    Tatton-Brown 2001, p. 54

Ormidhia

1876

a square well about two miles from Salamis

1877

  • Found · 1877Cesnola found a well filled with fractured statuettes and assembled about two hundred of them.

    about two hundred statuettesCesnola 1884, p. xvii

about two miles distant from Salamis

1877

  • Found · 1877Cesnola found a square well full of fractured statuettes and later put together about two hundred of them.

    Cesnola 1882, p. xvii

between the sites of the ancient towns of Salamis and Constanzia

1877

  • Excavated · 1877Cesnola dug between Salamis and Constanzia and found a remarkable group carved in stone.

    Cesnola 1882, p. 95

Enkomi

1877–1878

  • Excavated · 1877–1878Alessandro excavated at Enkomi and Salamis.

    Marangou 2000, p. 275

  • Excavated · 1878In his defence, Alessandro di Cesnola claimed that he applied for a firman but continued excavating after not receiving it.

    Pilides 2008, p. 7

  • Had digging done byLazaris Philippi supervised excavations on Alessandro Palma di Cesnola’s behalf.

    Had digging done by Lazaris PhilippiStanley-Price 2018, p. 309

  • Had digging done byAlessandro Koukomo dug for Alessandro Palma di Cesnola at Enkomi before being employed to fill excavation pits.

    Had digging done by Alessandro KoukomoStanley-Price 2018, p. 302

  • ExcavatedCesnola excavated antiquities at Enkomi and Ormidia.

    Hill 1952, p. 608

  • Directed excavationsMajor Alexander di Cesnola kept a band of diggers working among the tombs between the monastery and Encomi.

    Munro et al. 1891, p. 59

  • ExcavatedAlexander di Cesnola explored the cemetery west of Enkomi.

    Myres 1945, p. 69

  • ExcavatedMajor Alexander Palma di Cesnola discovered and explored tombs at Enkomi, though not in a scientific way.

    some tombsTatton-Brown 2003, p. 9

  • Directed excavationsAlessandro Palma di Cesnola and his brother used a band of diggers among the tombs.

    Zavagno 2014, p. 114

land between the sites of Salamis and Constanzia

1877

  • Found · 1877While digging between Salamis and Constanzia, Alexander Palma di Cesnola found a group carved in stone.

    Cesnola 1884, p. 95

Palaepaphos (Kouklia)

1877

  • Excavated · 1877Cesnola dug at several places in Paphos and found gold objects and vases.

    Cesnola 1882, p. xvi

Riso-Carpazzo

1877

a tomb at Salaminia

1878

  • Found · 1878Major A. P. Di Cesnola found two examples of the goddess in a tomb at Salaminia.

    two examples of this goddessCesnola 1883, p. 125

near Engomi (Enkomi)

1878

Famagosta

  • FoundMajor di Cesnola found tombs near a ruined church at Famagosta.

    Cesnola 1881

Idalion

Kition

  • Directed excavationsA. P. di Cesnola conducted excavations at Kitium that disclosed an aryballos.

    aryballos in form of a SilenusNo. fig. 288Cesnola 1882, p. 242

  • ExcavatedCesnola conducted excavations at Kitium that disclosed an aryballos.

    Cesnola 1884, p. 242

Larnaca

near Throni

  • FoundMajor di Cesnola discovered an inscribed urn in a tomb near the supposed site of Throni.

    cinerary urn with an inscriptionCesnola 1881

Nicosia

perhaps in the region of Salamis

  • FoundAlessandro Palma di Cesnola was reported to have found the terracotta figurine, perhaps in the region of Salamis.

    No. Inv. n°1990/I-23/1Karageorghis 1991, p. 25

region of ancient Salamis

  • ExcavatedAlexander Palma di Cesnola excavated in the region of ancient Salamis, and his excavations yielded 14,000 objects.

    Cyprus, p. 20

ruined building at Salamis

  • FoundAlexander Palma di Cesnola found six statuettes in a ruined building at Salamis.

    six terra-cotta statuettesCesnola 1884, p. 191

Salines of Lamocca

  • FoundMajor di Cesnola and his predecessors found terra-cotta heads and gold staters at the Salines of Lamocca.

    Cesnola 1881

Salines of Larnaca

  • FoundAlexander Palma di Cesnola and earlier workers found terra-cotta heads at the Salines of Larnaca.

    Cesnola 1884, p. 96

the ancient cemeteries and ruins of Cyprus

  • ExcavatedMajor A. P. Di Cesnola excavated ancient cemeteries and ruins in Cyprus, where he found the gold jewellery he exhibited.

    Phenico-Cypriote golden jewellery, about fifteen hundred piecesCesnola 1883, p. 127

Timpou

  • FoundMajor di Cesnola found a painted terra-cotta lion and copper coins in a tomb near Timpou.

    small painted terra-cotta lion and copper coinsCesnola 1881

Tremetousia

Tremithous (Tremetousia)

  • ExcavatedMajor A. P. Di Cesnola excavated at Tremitus and found glass he identified as ordinary glass burnt by fire.

    Cesnola 1883, p. 124

Fieldwork

1876–1879

In the Archive

9 items

Connections

57 people
Augustus Henry Lane Fox P…Edwin Henry LawrenceAdrien Santi MatteiWilliam Ewart GladstoneAriodante FabrettiFrank RansomWilliam RansomLuigi Palma di CesnolaAugusta LawrenceMaurizio Palma di CesnolaArturo Palma di CesnolaLazaris PhilippiTheocharis KoutsocherisAlessandro KoukomoChristodoulos GeorgiGeorgi ZonenoClaude Delaval CobhamGarnet Joseph WolseleyHenry G. WhiteE. SpencerGeorge GreavesAchilleus VondizianoChristophi AndreaHenry BrackenburyPanagia Hadji CristofiJohannes KyriakiVassos KarageorghisDemetrios PieridesOlivier MassonCharles NewtonSamuel BirchErnest RenanD. M. MetcalfF. G. Lo PortoM. J. P. SixEdmond PottierLouis CastanAlexis DrakopoulosArchibald Henry SayceNicolaos VondizianoAlessandro (Alexander) Palma di Cesnola
Sales & giftsFamilyFieldworkDisputesScholarshipColleaguesThe 40 best-connected of 57 shown

Sales, gifts & bequests

Family

Fieldwork & employment

Disputes & the law

Scholarship

Show 2 more

Colleagues & contacts

Show 23 more

Also: Charles Newton, Demetrios Pierides, Henry Carte, J. R. Herbert, Luigi Palma di Cesnola, R. Carte, Samuel Birch.

Recording and study

12 records
Published2
Studied5

  • Cesnola studied the Oriental antiquities in the British Museum during his stay in London.

    British Museum, LondonCesnola 1882, p. xi

  • Major A. P. Di Cesnola examined glass from Tremitus and concluded that it was ordinary glass burnt by fire.

    Cesnola 1883, p. 124

  • Cesnola sorted, arranged, and studied the antiquities in his collection.

    the antiquities he had collectedLarnakaCesnola 1884, p. xv

  • Alexander Palma di Cesnola described an ancient wall bounding the harbour area.

    SalamineRogge et al. 2019, p. 303

  • Alessandro Palma di Cesnola spent several months studying the Oriental collections at the British Museum.

    British Museum, LondonStanley-Price 2018, p. 301

Restored1

  • Major di Cesnola reconstructed about two hundred terra-cotta statuettes found in an enclosure near Throni.

    Cesnola 1881

Held a post1

  • 1874Alessandro was appointed honorary United States vice-consul at Paphos.

    Masson 1996, p. 18

Connected with1

  • Major A. P. Di Cesnola offered to show the Association ancient gold ornaments he had found in Cyprus.

    Connected with British Archaeological AssociationCesnola 1883, p. 119

Other work2

  • Alexander Palma di Cesnola instructed that the inscribed upper part of the stone be sawn off and preserved.

    upper part of the stone containing the inscriptionKitiumCesnola 1884, p. 106

  • Alessandro provided one more jug, which could not then be traced.

    No. [305.X]Vandenabeele 2001, p. 186

Objects

  • Whole Lawrence-Cesnola collection (c. 14,000 objects, dug or bought 1876-78): shipped in two consignments to London, shown at 84 Holland Park, offered to the BM and South Kensington Museum, sold in four Sotheby's sales 1883-1892 (3,463 lots)

    From Salamis, Enkomi, Kourion, Paphos area, Soli, Marion, Rizokarpaso and other sites (provenances often uncertain)1876–1878Stanley-Price 2018Ulbrich & Kiely 2012Cesnola 1884

  • Seized antiquities (pottery, glass, 1,500+ items from the Ormidia house plus Enkomi finds), kept in Commissioner White's, then Cobham's house in Larnaca; some later went to the Cyprus Museum

    From Enkomi / SalamisCyprus Museum, NicosiaOctober 1878Stanley-Price 2018Tatton-Brown 2001

  • Ten inscribed stones, mostly Cypriot syllabic (BM 1884.4-19.1-10), including four epitaphs from Marion

    From Marion (attributed by Cesnola to 'Paphos'); two probably ChytroiBritish Museum 1884,0419.1-10April 1884Masson 1996

  • Bronze patera engraved with Phoenician and Egyptian subjects (sale lot 285, 1892), bought by Rollin

    British Museum 1892.5-19.125 April 1892Masson 1996

  • Bronze mirror with the facade of the temple of Paphos (sale 1892 lot 284, bought by Ready; Salaminia fig. 66)

    Antikensammlung, Berlin 839425 April 1892Masson 1996

  • Medieval tympanum from a church at Larnaca (sale 1892 lot 625, 31 pounds, Pitt Rivers; later K. Digby-Jones)

    Victoria and Albert Museum A.2-198225 April 1892Masson 1996

  • Terracotta bath, 11th century BC (from a lot via Rollin, labelled Lawrence-Cesnola; probably part of 1892 lot 623)

    British Museum 1981.8-10.825 April 1892Masson 1996

  • Items bought by Pitt Rivers at the Lawrence-Cesnola sales (693 items in total); Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, holds Cypriot pieces; his 'second' collection was later sold off and partly passed to the Ashmolean (oenochoe with swan, 1892 lot 607)

    Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford; Ashmolean Museum1883–1892Ulbrich & Kiely 2012Masson 1996

  • Lots 401, 402, 407 (inscribed marble and stone, Salaminia figs 90, 93) and other objects bought at the 1892 sale by Dana Estes, bequeathed 1902 to Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine

    Bowdoin College Museum of Art25 April 1892Masson 1996

  • At least 28 Cypriot items marked 'R.C.' in the Nicholson Museum, Sydney, from the Ransom collection bought at the Lawrence-Cesnola sale of 1888 (via Cambridge loan 1947)

    Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney NM47.xxx series12 March 1888Barker & Merrillees 2017

  • White Painted juglet, Cypro-Geometric, said to be from the Lawrence-Cesnola collection, donated by Thomas Hollings

    Leeds Museums (LEEDM.D.1988.0004) LEEDM.D.1988.0004Reeve 2021

  • Cast bronze Osiris figure, 'Ex Lawrence-Cesnola collection'

    World Museum Liverpool 1961.202.180Osiris Figure, World Museum…

  • Cylindrical glass vessel with a Greek inscription, bought in 1878 from a Mattei of Larnaca (recorded by Pottier Aug.-Nov. 1878)

    From Cyprus1878Merrillees 2016

Discussed in documents

Also named in

On Ancient Cyprus

1 page

Sources

  1. 1.Alexander Palma di Cesnola (1884). Salaminia (Cyprus): The History, Treasures, and Antiquities of Salamis in the Island of Cyprus. London, Whiting and Company.
  2. 2.A. P. di Cesnola (1881). Lawrence-Cesnola Collection. Cyprus Antiquities excavated by Major Alexander Palma di Cesnola, 1876 to 1879. London, W. Holmes & Son.
  3. 3.Nicholas Stanley-Price (2018). “Illicit excavation: the trial of Alessandro Palma di Cesnola in Cyprus in 1878”. The Antiquaries Journal 98, 297-317.
  4. 4.Olivier Masson (1996). “La dispersion des antiquités chypriotes: les deux collections Cesnola”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 25, 3-32. Online
  5. 5.Anja Ulbrich, Thomas Kiely (2012). “Britain and the Archaeology of Cyprus. I. The long 19th century”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 42. Online
  6. 6.T. Kiely (2010). “Charles Newton and the archaeology of Cyprus”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 40, 231-251. Online
  7. 7.Craig Barker, Robert S. Merrillees (2017). “Cypriot Antiquities from the Cesnola Collections in the Nicholson Museum at the University of Sydney”. Mediterranean Archaeology 30, 51-71.
  8. 8.A. G. Marangou (ed.) (2000). The Consul Luigi Palma di Cesnola 1832-1904: Life and Deeds.
  9. 9.Veronica Tatton-Brown (ed.) (2001). Cyprus in the 19th Century AD: Fact, Fancy and Fiction. Oxford, Oxbow.
  10. 10.M. Hadjicosti (2001). “Ormideia: tracing Cesnola's footsteps. Archaeological research and finds”. Cyprus in the 19th Century AD: Fact, Fancy and Fiction, 53-69.
  11. 11.Robert Stuart Merrillees (2016). “Studies on the provenances of the stele of Sargon II from Larnaca (Kition) and the two so-called Dhali (Idalion) silver bowls in the Louvre”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 46, 349-386. Online
  12. 12.Anna Holly Reeve (2021). “Ancient Cyprus in Leeds: Objects, Networks and Museums from 1870 to 1947”. PhD thesis, University of Leeds.
  13. 13.W. A. P. Childs (ed.), J. S. Smith (ed.), J. M. Padgett (ed.) (2012). City of Gold: The Archaeology of Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus. Princeton, Princeton University Art Museum.
  14. 14.Alessandro Palma di Cesnola (Wikidata Q1167420; GND 120475294). Online
  15. 15.“Alessandro Palma di Cesnola”. Wikipedia. Online
  16. 16.“Alessandro Palma di Cesnola”. Wikipedia (it). Online
  17. 17.Osiris Figure, World Museum Liverpool 1961.202.180. Online
  18. 18.L. Bombardieri (ed.), E. Panero (ed.) (2021). Cyprus: Crossroads of Civilizations. Turin.
  19. 19.Sebastiano Soldi (2025). “The Italian entomologist Giacomo Cecconi and Cyprus: a step towards the formation of the Cypriot collection in the National Archaeological Museum of Florence”. Empire & Excavation: Critical perspectives on archaeology in British-period Cyprus, 1878-1960, 93-.
  20. 20.C. S. Lightfoot (2017). The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art: Ancient Glass. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  21. 21.A. P. di Cesnola (1882). Salaminia (Cyprus): The History, Treasures, and Antiquities of Salamis in the Island of Cyprus. London, Trübner & Co.
  22. 22.A. Reeve, S. Waite (2020). “Re-collecting Cypriot antiquity: The Kent collection in Harrogate”. Journal of the History of Collections. Online
  23. 23.Vassos Karageorghis (2011). “A Cypro-Archaic I Vase Rediscovered”. Levant 43, 173-177.
  24. 24.L. Bombardieri, A. Cannavò (2016). “A Phoenician inscription from Cyprus in the Cesnola Collection at the Turin University Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography”. Kadmos 55, 37-48. Online
  25. 25.J. Lund (2015). A Study of the Circulation of Ceramics in Cyprus from the 3rd Century BC to the 3rd Century AD. Aarhus, Aarhus University Press.
  26. 26.Andrew T. Wilburn (2012). Materia Magica: The Archaeology of Magic in Roman Egypt, Cyprus, and Spain. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press.
  27. 27.Giampaolo Graziadio (2025). The Aegean and Cyprus: Interaction Between Two Distinct Cultural Mediterranean Areas from the Third Millennium to ca. 1200 BC.
  28. 28.M. Bettelli, F. Lo Schiavo (2010). “La raccolta del Museo archeologico di Firenze nel quadro della storia del collezionismo di antichità cipriote in Italia”. Researches in Cypriote History and Archaeology, 85-94. Florence University Press.
  29. 29.Alex Christofi (2024). Cypria: A Journey to the Heart of the Mediterranean. Bloomsbury Continuum.
  30. 30.T. Kiely (2019). “From Salamis to Bloomsbury: Transporting the Bull's Head Capital to the British Museum in 1891”. Salamis of Cyprus: History and Archaeology from the Earliest Times to Late Antiquity, 51-76. Waxmann.
  31. 31.A. P. di Cesnola (1883). “On Specimens of Ancient Goldsmiths' Art Found in Cyprus”. Journal of the British Archaeological Association 39, 119-128.
  32. 32.Kevin Herbert. “Greek and Latin Inscriptions at Bowdoin”. American Journal of Archaeology. Online
  33. 33.George Hill (1952). A History of Cyprus. Volume 4: The Ottoman Province, The British Colony, 1571-1948. Cambridge University Press.
  34. 34.Veronica Tatton-Brown (2003). “Enkomi: The Notebook in the British Museum”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 33, 9-66. Online
  35. 35.Anna Cannavò (2012). “I. Chypre dans les études historiques des XIXe et XXe siècles. Découverte de l'antique, construction du passé”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 42, 423-457. Online
  36. 36.S. Fourrier (2007). La coroplastie chypriote archaïque. Identités culturelles et politiques à l'époque des royaumes. Lyon.
  37. 37.Michael Given (2025). “Over the landscape, in the landscape? Knowledge and agency in Cypriot archaeology, 1870-1910”. Empire & Excavation: Critical perspectives on archaeology in British-period Cyprus, 1878-1960. Leiden, Sidestone Press.
  38. 38.Despina Pilides (2008). “"Welcome, Sir, to Cyprus": The Local Reaction to American Archaeological Research”. Near Eastern Archaeology 71, 6-15.
  39. 39.Michael Given (2001). “The fight for the past: Watkins vs. Warren (1885-6) and the control of excavation”. Cyprus in the 19th Century AD: Fact, Fancy and Fiction, 255-260. London, British Museum.
  40. 40.J. L. Myres, M. Ohnefalsch-Richter (1899). A Catalogue of the Cyprus Museum. Oxford, Clarendon Press.
  41. 41.Frieda Vandenabeele (1994). “Ohnefalsch-Richter - Cesnola: ou la recherche des cruches à terres cuites tenant une oinochoe”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 22, 19-31.
  42. 42.Cyprus.
  43. 43.Alexander Gatzsche (2023). “From Cyprus to Leipzig: Provenance Research”. Alexander Malios Collection, Volume 1: Cypriot Antiquities, 20-31. Leipzig, AMRICHA.
  44. 44.A. Hermary (2004). “Autour de Golgoi : les cités de la Mesaoria à l'époque hellénistique et sous l'Empire”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 34, 47-68. Online
  45. 45.Antoine Hermary (2012). “L'École française d'Athènes et Chypre : 135 ans d'histoire”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 42.
  46. 46.Vassos Karageorghis (1991). “A Cypriote centaur figurine rediscovered”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 15.
  47. 47.Vassos Karageorghis, Olivier Masson (1965). “Quelques vases inscrits de Salamine de Chypre”. Kadmos 4, 146-153.
  48. 48.J. A. R. Munro, H. A. Tubbs, W. Wroth (1891). “Excavations in Cyprus, 1890: Third Season's Work: Salamis”. Journal of Hellenic Studies 12, 59-198. Online
  49. 49.John L. Myres (1945). “The Topographical History of Enkomi, Salamis, and Famagusta”. The Annual of the British School at Athens 41, 68-72.
  50. 50.Max Ohnefalsch Richter (1884). “On a Phoenician Vase Found in Cyprus”. The Journal of Hellenic Studies 5, 102-104.
  51. 51.S. Rogge (ed.), C. Ioannou (ed.), T. Mavrojannis (ed.) (2019). Salamis of Cyprus: History and Archaeology from the Earliest Times to Late Antiquity. Münster, Waxmann.
  52. 52.Philippa M. Steele (ed.) (2013). Syllabic Writing on Cyprus and its Context. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
  53. 53.F. Vandenabeele (2001). “Collecting vases with figurines/protomes in the nineteenth century AD”. Cyprus in the 19th Century AD: Fact, Fancy and Fiction, 184-188. Oxford, Oxbow.
  54. 54.L. Zavagno (2014). “'A wonderful city of palms and dates': Salamis-Constantia in transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages (ca. 600–ca. 800 CE)”. Mediterranean Historical Review. Online