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A Steatite Relief Mould from Enkomi
€ 8.00
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We publish here an important steatite mould from Enkomi which recovered by chance by J.-C. Courtois during a visit to the site in the spring of 1972. The mould was found in the western part of so-called ”house of knives” in sector 6/w after heavy rains had caused some damage to the floors in the area excavated during previous season.

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CYPRUS A Dynamic Island
€ 27.00
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Cyprus has a long and eventful history. The island lies in the eastern Mediterranean, where the cultures of Anatolia, Assyria, the Levant, Egypt, and Greece flourished in antiquity. Each of these great civilisations has left its mark on the history of Cyprus, through commercial ties, migration, conflicts, and technological innovations. The mining of copper in the Troodos Mountains led to lively trade, greatly boosting the prosperity of the island’s various kingdoms. These independent states maintained relations with all the neighbouring states, leading to a cultural melting pot of languages, customs, and religions. Yet certain elements can be seen as truly Cypriot down the ages: the widespread veneration of the goddess Aphrodite, who was born from the foam of the waves off the island’s west coast, the unique character of the arts in the Bronze and Iron Ages, and a marked capacity to absorb foreign influences without sacrificing the island’s own distinctive character.

This book introduces readers to the main landmarks in the history of Cyprus. Various topics in the island’s archaeological past are discussed, each one written by a leading expert. You will meet the first inhabitants of the island, who crossed the sea from the mainland in tiny boats and rafts, bringing their livestock with them. And you will read about the ships, which started their journey across the Mediterranean laden with cargoes of copper ingots. Discussions of the history of archaeological investigations of the island range from random acts of plunder in the nineteenth century to ongoing scientific investigations. Several chapters focus on the highlights of Cypriot art in the collections of the museums of Cyprus, Stockholm, and Leiden. This book is published to coincide with the exhibition Cyprus: A Dynamic Island at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden.

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La Pietra Filosofale A Cipro
€ 20.00
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Furio Morroni

La Pietra Filosofale

a Cipro

Gli inconfondibili simboli dell’Alchimia

su una casa medievale di Nicosia

Uno sconosciuto alchimista, verosimilmente veneziano, visse e lavorò a Cipro tra la fine del XV e la prima metà del XVI secolo, riuscendo forse a trovare la Pietra filosofale, la misteriosa sostanza ritenuta in grado di trasmutare in oro i metalli di scarso valore.

L’evidente e innegabile segno del suo passaggio è custodito in venti bassorilievi simbolici tutt’oggi visibili sulle mura esterne di una sobria abitazione in stile rinascimentale, di cui è lecito supporre che egli stesso commissionò la costruzione.

Decorazioni che non possono essere state realizzate e messe al loro posto senza uno scopo ben preciso: anzi, quasi di certo, sono state volute lì dove si trovano proprio con l’intenzione di affermare che quella era la casa di un Filosofo ermetico.

By Furio Morroni

The Philosopher’s Stone

in Cyprus

The unmistakable symbols of Alchemy

on a medieval house in Nicosia

An unknown alchemist, probably from Venice, lived and worked in Cyprus between the end of the fifteenth and the first half of the sixteenth century, perhaps succeeding in finding the Philosopher’s Stone, the mysterious substance believed to be able to transmute metals of little value into gold.

The evident and undeniable sign of his passage is kept in twenty symbolic bas-reliefs still visible today on the external walls of a simple Renaissance-style house, of which we can assume that he himself commissioned the construction.

Decorations that could not have been realized and put in their place without a specific purpose: indeed, almost certainly, they were wanted there where they were placed where they are, precisely with the intention of affirming that this was the home of a hermetic Philosopher.

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Nicosia Beyond Barriers – Voices from a Divided City
€ 18.00
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Cyprus’ capital Nicosia has been split by a militarised border for decades. In this collection, writers from all sides of the divide reimagine the past, present and future of their city.

Here, Cypriot-Greeks coexist alongside Cypriot-Turks, the north with the south, town with countryside, dominant voices with the marginalised. This is a city of endless possibilities – a place where an anthropologist from London and a talkative Marxist are hunted by a gunman in the Forbidden zone; where a romance between two aspiring Tango dancers falls victim to Nicosia’s time difference; and where an artist finds his workplace on a rooftop, where he paints a horizon disturbed only by birds.

Together, these writers journey beyond the beaten track creating a complete picture of Nicosia, the world’s last divided capital city, that defies barriers of all kinds.

About the Contributors

Alev Adil is a performance artist-poet. Her poetry has been translated into eight languages. She is a literary critic for the TLS.

Aydin Mehmet Ali has worked as an arts and education adviser to the London Mayor and Local Education Authorities. She is the founder of Literary Agency Cyprus.

Bahriye Kemal is a research associate and lecturer at the Centre for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies at the University of Kent. She is an active member of Literary Agency Cyprus, Kent Refugee Help, Seenaryo and Women Now.

Maria Petrides is an independent writer, editor and translator. She has been a writer in residencies in NYC, Nicosia, Istanbul, Helsinki, Rio de Janeiro, and Geneva. She is translator of Wow (Patakis 2016) and To Teach the Journey (Saita 2016). She the author of A Book of Small Things (2016) and editor of Semiotics (Cambridge Scholars, 2017).

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