Decorative Arts Collection

Information

The Decorative Arts Collection is displayed at the knight building of the Arsenal, at Argyrokastrou square, in the Medieval City of Rhodes.
It includes items from the 16th until early 20th century, originating from the Ethnographic Collection of the Italians, the Folklore Archives of the Dodecanese, donations, and excavations. Among the exhibits are traditional female costumes from Empona in Rhodes and the islands of the Dodecanes, embroidery, woodwork, metalwork and pottery objects.
The pottery objects displayed show significant variety as to their origin, including specimens of pottery of Iznik (Nice) of the 16th-19th centuries, formerly known as Rhodian pottery, Armenian dishes from the Kutachia workshops, jugs with decorations of human or monstrous figures of the Chanak-Kale type, local pottery samples from the villages of Rhodes, and 19th and 20th century pottery of European origin.
The woodwork objects represent the decoration of Dodecanese houses. Those are chests with woodwork and written decoration, painted cornices of lofts, “mousantra” (built-in wardrobes), woodwork cabinets, a mirror, a 19th century shelf and iconostasis, a traditional bed (soufas), a cradle with woodwork decoration, a loom and a spinning wheel.