Ancient CyprusAncient Cyprus

Heir · Collector · Consular staff · Consul / diplomat

Zeno D. Pierides

1839–1911 · Ottoman

Elder son of the collector Demetrios Pierides who inherited the pottery and limestone heads in 1895 and ran the Larnaca shipping house Z. D. Pierides while holding several consular posts.

Biography

Zeno D. Pierides (1839-1911) shared the Larnaca Pierides collection with his brother after their father's death in 1895. He was the elder son of Demetrios Pierides and brother of Djabra (Gabriel) Pierides1,4. His share was, in Karageorghis's words, "mainly pottery and heads of limestone statues of the Cypro-Geometric and Cypro-Archaic periods", while his brother took the Mycenaean vases. Zeno then "enriched the collection further", which stayed in his father's house in Larnaca2. A letter from him dated 28 April 1898 is listed in the British Museum's correspondence on excavations in Cyprus4.

Outside the collection he founded the shipping and banking house Z. D. Pierides in 1860, was the first Greek mayor of Larnaca and sat as a member of parliament1,2. Karageorghis lists him as Vice Consul for the United States in 1866, acting British consul in 1876-77, Consul for Sweden from 1895 and Consul for Germany from 1907 to 19112. The 1985 catalogue dates his Swedish and Norwegian consulship from 18921. The London Gazette of 24 December 1907 announced the King's approval of "Mr. Zeno D. Pierides as German Consul at Larnaca"5. A certificate of 1868 from the American consul reappointing "Chancellor Zenon Pierides" is reproduced in Marangou's volume on Luigi Palma di Cesnola3.

His sons Luke Zenon Pierides and Demetrios Z. Pierides kept the collection after him1,2.

Life and work

  1. 1860
    Founded the shipping (and banking) house Z. D. Pierides at Larnaca.

    LarnacaKarageorghis 1973Karageorghis et al. 1985, p. 20

  2. 1866
    Vice Consul for the USA at Larnaca (Karageorghis 1973); this sits alongside Cesnola's appointment as US consul in 1865-72, but no source read joins the two.

    LarnacaKarageorghis 1973

  3. 1868
    A certificate from the American Consul to 'Chancellor Zenon Pierides', 1868, is reproduced (caption: reappointing him as Chancellor of the Consulate). The consul in 1868 was Cesnola; the caption does not name him.

    LarnacaMarangou 2000

  4. 1876–1877
    Acting Consul for Great Britain at Larnaca.

    LarnacaKarageorghis 1973

  5. 1895
    On Demetrios Pierides's death he and his brother Giabra shared the collection: Zeno received mainly pottery and heads of limestone statues of the Cypro-Geometric and Cypro-Archaic periods, Giabra the Mycenaean vases.

    LarnacaKarageorghis 1973Karageorghis et al. 1985, p. 13, p. 20

  6. 28 April 1898
    Wrote to the British Museum; the letter is filed in 'Correspondence: Excavations in Cyprus' (Tatton-Brown's list of BM archives). Content not read.

    Tatton-Brown 2001, p. 178

  7. 21 December 1907
    Foreign Office announced that the King approved Mr. Zeno D. Pierides as German Consul at Larnaca.

    LarnacaThe London Gazette, issue… 1907, p. 8979

  8. 1911

Connections

6 people
Demetrios PieridesLuke Zenon PieridesDjabra (Gabriel) PieridesDemetrios Z. PieridesLuigi Palma di CesnolaZeno D. PieridesZeno D. Pierides
Sales & giftsFamilyFieldworkColleagues

Sales, gifts & bequests

Fieldwork & employment

Colleagues & contacts

Sources

  1. 1.V. Karageorghis, F. Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou, D. Papanikola-Bakirtzis, C. Elliott (1985). Ancient Cypriote Art in the Pierides Foundation Museum.
  2. 2.V. Karageorghis (1973). Cypriote Antiquities in the Pierides Collection, Larnaca, Cyprus. Athens, Ekdotiki Hellados.
  3. 3.A. G. Marangou (ed.) (2000). The Consul Luigi Palma di Cesnola 1832-1904: Life and Deeds.
  4. 4.Veronica Tatton-Brown (ed.) (2001). Cyprus in the 19th Century AD: Fact, Fancy and Fiction. Oxford, Oxbow.
  5. 5. (1907). “The London Gazette, issue 28092, 24 December 1907”. The London Gazette, 8979. Online