Byzance en Suisse, Musée Rath, December 4, 2015–March 13, 2016

Switzerland’s important collections of Byzantine objects and manuscripts, like its humanist tradition and the central role placed by the Reformation on the study and transmission of the Greek language, have bestowed on the country an appreciable but too often un-recognized position in Byzantine studies. With the exhibition Byzantium in Switzerland, the Musées d’Art et d’Histoire of Geneva have chosen to bring together and present for the first time the rich Byzantine heritage conserved on Swiss territory, as well as highlighting the country’s contributions to the “rediscovery” of that civilization.

Thus the links uniting Switzerland to the chosen works constitute the common thread of the exhibit, whether coming from public or private collections, ecclesiastical treasures, archaeological digs, or else bearing witness to the interest of Swiss personalities in the world of Byzantium. The first part of the exhibition is dedicated to material artefacts, with a special emphasis on matters of technical know-how, while the second looks at the history of Switzerland’s Byzantine legacy including its preservation and dissemination from the Renaissance to modern times.