The Pierides Museum is a museum in Larnaca, Cyprus that was founded by the Pierides Foundation. It is the nation's oldest private museum.The placard on the museum building says Perides Museum - Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation. The collection was initiated by the enlightened forefather of the Pierides family, Demetrios Pierides, in the 19th century , with the aim of protecting and preserving Cyprus' antiquities and preventing the loss of the islands history. his efforts were extremely important since during the 19th century and particularly under the Ottoman rule, the archaeological treasures of Cyprus, were traded systematically by various dealers who acted under the cover of various professions with the sole aim of collecting antiquities and selling them abroad. The collections were systematically enriched by five generations of the family. The archaeological collection is housed in the old residence of the Pierides family, a colonial style building, built in 1825. The visitor can travel through the ages covering 10000 years of the island's history. beginning from the Neolithic times through the Bronze Age, Geometric, Archaic, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine - Medieval ages. There is also an important cartography collection of old maps and charts of Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean as well as the prized collection of Greek and Roman glassware. Currently the museum is managed by mr. Peter Ashdjian, an 8th generation Pierides.
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