Pilgrim treasures

Christianity has its roots in the East. It spread from Palestine and Egypt to the Roman world. The cultures of these and other lands in the Levant, such as Syria and Mesopotamia, left their mark on the young religion. Christianity first flourished in Byzantium. From there it moved on to Europe, Russia and Central Asia. The advent of Islam put an end to Christianity’s strong position in the East, but its cultural expressions continued to flourish as before.

The fourth exhibition at the Hermitage Amsterdam presents the image and the memories of the Holy Land in Byzantine culture in the form of art treasures from this world: oil lamps and bronze crosses from the earliest period, icons and reliquaries from the Byzantine age, and pilgrims’ souvenirs in mother-of-pearl and fish-bone icons from the 18th and 19th centuries. Together they provide a picture of Eastern Christianity, which formed the basis for the Russian Orthodox Church.