Fig. 1 Pectoral of Metropolitan Parthenios of Caesaria. Greek work from Constantinople. The perforated double-sided pectoral is decorated on one side with precious stones-rubies, sapphires, emeralds- and on the other with painted enamels and representations of the Holy Trinity and the Desis. 
1738
Athens Benaki Museum, inv. no. T.A. 147.

Fig. 2 Gold pendant from Patmos, Three-masted caravel with open sails decorated with coloured enamels and pearls. Such jewellery, worked by Greek craftsmen probably in Venice from Western designs, was worn in the Dodecanese and Cycledes islands during the 17th and 18th centuries. 17th-18th century. 
Athens Benaki Museum, inv. no. 7669.

Fig. 3 Gold earrings from Siphnos, . Three-masted caravels with multicolored enamels and pearls. Ornate surfaces like transparent gold lace with enameled details echo the influences of European rococo sailing ships hang from bows topped by a crown. 
17th-18th century
Athens Benaki Museum, inv. no. 7670.

Fig. 4 'Kambanes' (Bells) from Kos, . Sumptuous long earrings that frame the face as in the Byzantine imperial 'perpendulia'. Ornate compositions are fashioned in delicate gold filigree and perforated technique. 
18th century
Athens Benaki Museum, inv. no. Exp. 265.

Fig. 5 Belt buckle from Cyprus. 
Athens Benaki Museum, inv. no. Ea. 117.

Fig. 6 Necklace and earrings from Macedonia. Strking silver jewellery, simple forms with large pendent metal plaques. Greek craftsmen worked mainly in silver, pure or low-grade, copper or bronze, in accordance with the client's wishes. 
18th-19th century
Athens Benaki Museum, inv. nos Ea. 704, 871.
 

The Neohellenic jewellery in museums and private collections is distinguished by its impressive quality and remarkable variety. Many of these rare and precious pieces are published and so known in the bibliography. Spanning a broad continuum in space and time, they illustrate aspects of both Turkish-occupied Greece and the Hellenic diaspora after the fall of Byzantium in 1453.

These exquisite objects, valuable reflections of the panorama of Hellenism, include not only jewellery wrought by native craftsmen but also that of foreign origin which was incorporated in the Greek tradition, remodeled and adapted, its variations taking their place alongside ancient Greek and Byzantine memories in the artistic history of this land.
The tradition of silver- and goldsmithing in Greece is lost in the mists of time. In Greek mythology Hephaestus, god of fire, the `divine smith', appears as the inventor of metalworking. In his Olympian forge he fashioned such magnificent works as Achilles' shield, Herakles' golden breastplate, Zeus' sceptre and throne, Ariadne's wedding crown. In the course of 5,000 years miniature creations in metal, noble or base, have made their mark on Hellenic civilization.

In more recent times, among the elements composing the distinctive character of Neohellenic art (16th - late 19th century) the deeply ingrained Byzantine tradition merits special mention. Heir to the an of ancient Greece, it in its turn bequeathed to posterity forms and shapes, colors and materials, imprinted in new creations. Diverse influences of Western inspiration, nurtured by and filtered through Greek antiquity, also reached Greece via the Venetian-held territories, while the later invasion of baroque and rococo traits from Italy and Central Europe, as well as the impact of the highly decorative aesthetic of Islamic an, were readily assimilated by the skilful Greek craftsmen.

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