My name is Eliza Christopoulou and I am a jewellery designer. My new collection Kore was inspired by both my love of Greek culture as well as my desire to bring ancient Greek art to life.

A variety of materials are combined to create the jewellery, namely light wood used for depicting the images , plexiglass, rope, ribbon and tassels. Each piece is placed in a wooden box with the carved Kore logo on a bed of recycled olive coloured paper. Each box also contains a rolled up papyrus that tells the story the piece of jewellery portrays.The items contained in this collection are unique and memorable statement pieces.

Each piece tells a story from ancient Greek civilisation that comes to life every time its box is opened.

OPEN THE BOX, READ THE STORY, WEAR THE JEWELLERY, BE A GREEK GODDESS.

The Blue Ladies are a beautiful fresco that adorned the ancient palace of Knossos. The small part of the image that has been saved reveals elaborate jewellery and rich woven dresses.

These wall frescoes date back to 1600-1500 BC.

The Blue Ladies Earrings

La Parisiene

La Parisienne also known as the Minoan Lady, is part of the Camp Stool Fresco, which was probably painted on one of the walls of the palace of Knossos. The woman depicted is possibly a priestess or even a goddess.

It dates to the Final Palatial Period, ca. 1450-1350/1300 B.C.

The Symposium

The Camp-stool Fresco shows scenes of ceremonial banqueting. It possibly replicated real banquets held in the west part of the Palace of Knossos where the fresco was found. They show both standing and seated figures on camp stools raising cups.

Prince of Lilies – red

This image was taken from a fresco from Knossos and shows a young man walking in a garden. He wears a short apron, a necklace and a crown of lilies and peacock feathers. He is thought to represent the Priest King of Knossos.

Prince of Lilies – Black

The fresco dates back to 1200 BC.

Horns of Consecration

“Horns of Consecration” is an expression coined by Sir Arthur Evans to describe the symbol, ubiquitous in Minoan civilization, that represents the horns of the sacred bull: Sir Arthur Evans concluded, after noting numerous examples in Minoan and Mycenaean contexts, that the Horns of Consecration were “a more or less conventionalised article of ritual furniture derived from the actual horns of the sacrificial oxen”

Akrotiri – Santorini

The Saffron Goddess

The Saffron Goddess (1600 B.C.) is a detail from a Minoan fresco depicting a saffron harvest. She sits supervising the plucking of flowers, which will be used in the manufacture of what is possibly a therapeutic drug.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod. Consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod

The Blue Bird and the Girl

Two frescoes are combined in this particular necklace. The “Blue bird”, one of the oldest and most important frescoes found in the so-called House of Frescoes in Knossos and the topless feminine figure from the Women’s House of the prehistoric settlement of Akrotiri (Museum of Prehistoric Thira, Fira, Santorini)

The Saffron Picker

The image of this particular necklace was originally found on a wall fresco in Akrotiri ,Santorini where a woman is shown in a saffron field collecting stamens. The saffron has been used as a dye since antiquity to paint the robes, which often appear in the frescoes. In classical Greece, saffron was a symbol of wealth and power.

The River

A miniature frieze from the upper zone of the Eastern Wall in Room 5 of the Western House, which depicts a river in a subtropical environment. The tall palm trees projected on the opposite bank while growing close by are a tangible attempt by the painter to add a Third Dimension to his work.

The exotic world of the East, the Theracian sailors had experience of, is obvious due to the depiction of an imaginary griffin. At the same time, however, this world is real as made obvious by the presence of real wild beasts.

The Saffron Ladies

The image on these earrings was originally found on a wall fresco from Akrotiri on Santorini, where two women are shown in a field of crocuses. The older woman is gathering the stamens of flowers and placing them in a basket. The younger woman has a partially shaven head, and is gathering stamens with both hands.

Saffron is derived from the stamens and has been used as a dye since antiquity. In classical Greece, saffron was a symbol of wealth and power.

The Boxing Boys

The boxing boys fresco is one of many well preserved frescoes from the island of Thera (Santorini). Thera was destroyed by a violent volcanic eruption probably around the 16th century BC. This fresco depicts two youths boxing, perhaps as part of a ritual sport rather than for a competitive match. They wear a belt and a loin cloth with a boxing glove only on their right hand. Their hair is long with shaved parts – a sign of youth. The boy on the left wears a surprising amount of jewellery, whilst his opponent wears none.

The Mycenaeans

The women of Thebes are heading towards the same direction. Some hold flowers, others precious objects (ivory compasses or stone vessels). They are luxuriously dressed in their distinctive garment , as well as the Minoan long skirt covered in beads and embroidery.

The Myceanean Vessel

The Battle

This is a mural from the Palace of Pylos depicting a battle scene. The warriors on one side have uniforms and equipment of a Mycenaean light infantry: a sword, a spear, a helmet reinforced with wild boar tusks and chevrons. There is no doubt that these are soldiers serving the king of Pylos. Their opponents, however, are dressed only in animal skins and generally have a primitive appearance. It is therefore very likely that the puzzling fresco of Pylos depicts a conflict between the king’s soldiers and the warriors of a warrior nomadic tribe.

13th century BC, Museum of Chora in Trifullia.

The Myceanean Ladies

A fresco of Mycenaean women bearing gifts, 1,400-1,200 BC

Apollo and Artemis

In the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. She was the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and protector of young girls. The deer and the cypress were sacred to her.

Apollo and Artemis

Apollo and Artemis. Tondo of an Attic red-figure cup by Brygos, potter, and the Briseis Painter, ca. 470 BC.

Crossing the Wine Sea

Dionysos, the Greek god of wine is shown in this drawing after an episode in which he was captured by pirates, whereupon he caused grapevines to grow all over the ship. He frightened his captors until they jumped overboard and were turned into dolphins. Dionysos is seen here reclining in the boat on his journey back, accompanied by seven dolphins and seven bunches of grapes for good luck.

Apollo and Artemis

Crossing the Wine Sea

Exekias. Dionysus and the pirates 530 BC.

Runners

The Panathenaic amphorae were large ceramic vessels and were given as prizes at the Panathenaic Games. The vessels contained sacred olive oil, which came from the sacred olive grove of Athena, situated at the Academy.

The Harvest

Busy with the harvest, the maidens and the satyrs work under the gaze of Dionysus, who is sitting on a mule. A vineyard surrounds the entire depicted area.

Dionysius leads a chariot among the satyrs and maenads, all of whom wear crowns of ivy, playing cymbals and trumpets. The figure of Dionysus is repeated again and again, seated with a carved swan behind him, smelling a flower given to him by a maenad.

It dates between 520 BC and 500 years

Hercules And Athena

Athena serves Hercules wine from an oinochoe jug. She holds a spear and a small owl, and wears the snake-trimmed aegis cape. Hercules has a club and is dressed in a lion-skin cape.

Hercules And Athena

Red Figure Kylix Attributed to Douris 490 – 470 B.C.

Packaging

Open the box, dive into Greece

Kore by Eliza Christopoulou

• tel: 6946659998
• e-mail: korebyeliza@gmail.com