Cyprus is definitely huge culturally and historically. The island’s museums, the archaeological monuments, castles and Cyprus’ long-lasting history remind us evry day of what has shaped our present environment.

Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia, the Municipality of Lapithos and the Cyprus Handicraft Service are collaborating to show the beauty of our cultural heritage from the past until today. They will present the evolution of Lapithian ceramics through the ages in their exhibition Ceramic Art from the Earth of Lapithos.

Cyprus history displayed through ceramics

In a timeline ranging from the 12th century BC until the 1960s, the ceramics of Lapithos have so much to tell us about their production, decoration and use but also about their role in people’s everyday life and the influence of their makers on the island’s economy and commerce.

The first section, From Antiquity, displays some of the first pots produced in the area of Lapithos dated from the 12th until 9th centuries BC.

The timeline continues with The Middle Ages, where you can see the blossom of this beautiful town, located on the slopes of Pentadaktylos, in the art of pottery.

The elegant shapes, the majestic decoration and the unique design of the ceramics dated from the late 14th to 16th centuries are a true piece of art.

The influence of potters from Asia Minor, who came to the island during the harsh decades of 1910 and 1920, is also present in the exhibition and they have a separate section called The Anatolians. Their art and traditional knowledge, brought with them when they came to Lapithos in search of work, left its mark on the local pottery.

In the final section, called Modern Years, you can see the popular aleifta of Lapithos. Until the 1950s, aleifta had served the people of Cyprus as domestic pots. Cypriot houses in the city and the countryside used them for simple decoration or everyday use. Their beauty captured the interest of people from abroad and during the 1960s they started to be mostly produced as decorative pottery articles intended for tourists.

The exhibition Ceramic Art from the Earth of Lapithos is a mixture of ceramic pots and photographic material from the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia and objects from other collections that were granted to the museum for the purposes of the exhibition.

According to the museum, during the exhibition a series of lectures, educational programmes and other relevant events will also take place, so keep an eye on it.
The exhibition will run until November 15.

Ceramic Art from the Earth of Lapithos
Exhibition of Lapithian ceramics.Until November 15, 2015. The Leventis Municipal Museum, 15-17 Hippocrates Street, Laiki Yitonia, Nicosia. Tuesday-Sunday: 10am-4.30pm. Tel: 22-661475

based on Cyprus mail article of 19/08/2015 by Alexandros Achilleos