National Museum of Medieval Art
Albania's national collection of Byzantine and post-Byzantine icons and church art, in Korçë.
The National Museum of Medieval Art was established in Korçë on 24 April 1980 to bring together icons and liturgical objects gathered from churches and monasteries across Albania. The collection now numbers more than 7,000 items, including some 6,500 icons together with stone carving, woodwork, metalwork, manuscripts and embroidered textiles. The earliest pieces date from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and the sequence runs through to the nineteenth century.
Among the best-known holdings are panels by Onufri, the sixteenth-century painter whose red pigment gave him a lasting reputation, and works by David Selenica and the Zografi brothers of Korçë, who painted across the southern Balkans in the eighteenth century. Carved and gilded iconostases from village churches, Byzantine capitals from Durrës and Elbasan and floor mosaics from Mesopotam are displayed alongside the panel paintings. The building was rebuilt and the displays renewed in 2016 with support from the Greek government and the municipality.
Highlights
- More than 7,000 objects, including around 6,500 icons
- Panels by Onufri, David Selenica and the Zografi brothers
- Carved iconostases removed from village churches
- Displays renewed after the 2016 reconstruction
