Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum

Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum

Location	12 Kallisperi Str., Athens, Greece
Type	Jewelry museum
Public transit access	Athens Metro stations: Akropolis
Website	Official site

Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum (often referred to as the ILJM) is a museum in Athens, Greece, created by the renowned Greek jewellery designer Ilias Lalaounis. The ILJM is located near the Acropolis, at the corner of Karyatidon and Kallisperi streets. It comprises 50 collections of a total of over 4,000 jewels and small ornaments dedicated to the history and art of jewellery making. The permanent exhibition displays more than 3000 pieces designed in the period 1940-1992.

The buildings- Architecture- History

The Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum is housed in two adjoining buildings which are connected internally: one located at 12 Kallisperi Street and the second facing Karyatidon Street.

The building at 12 Kallisperi Street dates to the 1930’s Athenian modernist movement. From 1968 until the museum’s founding, the workshops of Ilias Lalaounis Greek Gold, the first modern jewelry workshops in Greece, were located here. Today this building houses the museum exhibition spaces on two levels, a gift shop, a café and an auditorium/hall which can be used for a variety of functions. There is also a rooftop terrace. The museum was renovated in 2003-2004 based on the architectural plans of French architect, Bernard Zehrfuss (1908-1996), while the project was carried out by Greek architect, Vassilis Gregoriadis. The ILJM was the first museum in Greece designed to be accessible for visitors with disabilities. 

The building facing Karyatidon Street is Art Deco and probably dates to the 1920s.  Originally it was the home of the museum’s founder and namesake, Ilias Lalaounis. Today it houses the museum’s offices and extensive research library. 

Permanent exhibition

The permanent exhibition features over 3,000 jewelry items and micro-sculptures from 50 collections designed by Ilias Lalaounis between 1940 and 2002. Among others, collections include those inspired by prehistoric art, the art of Ancient Greece, the art and architecture of Byzantium, 15 different world cultures, nature and technology, as well as special commissions such as the Olympic torch and ceremonial swords.

Temporary exhibitions

In its 20 plus years of operation, the ILJM has organized and presented over 45 temporary exhibitions related to jewelry and the decorative arts, including:

1995 - The Shield of Achilles, at the Espace Cardin, Paris

1996 - Aikaterini Lalaouni and Maria Lalaouni, Pre-Columbian Collection, at the ILJM 

- Traditional Greek Costume: Miniatures by Georgette Kourmouli, at the ILJM

          - The Ilion Collection, at Pierce College, Agia Paraskevi, Athens

- Students Design-Goldsmiths Fashion, at the ILJM 

1997 - Norwegian Jewelry: 1945-1997, at the ILJM 

- Wildflowers of Greece, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK

1998 - Modern Revival of Ancient Gold, a retrospective exhibition of Ilias Lalaounis’

collections, at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia

1999 - Plateria Criolla: Traditional Creole Silver from 19th-century Argentina, at the

ILJM     

- Biennale: Students Design-Goldsmiths Fashion, at the ILJM 

2000 - Artists’ Jewelry in Contemporary Europe: A Female Perspective?, at the 

ILJM

- Biennale: Pupils, Students and Goldsmiths Design & Fashion Jewelry for the

            New Millennium, at the ILJM 

2001 - From Mycenae to Ioannina: Body Jewelry, at the ILJM 

- Microsculptures: Ilias Lalaounis, at the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit

Foundation, Olympic Tower, New York, NY, USA  

2002 - Norwegian Contemporary Glass, at the ILJM 

- Ilias Lalaounis, Chaos Collection, at the ILJM 

- Biennale: Latest Trends in Jewelry Design, at the ILJM 

- Swords and Distinctions for Members of the French Academy of the

             Arts: Four Swords and a Clasp, at the ILJM

- Tiaras, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK with contributions

from the ILJM collections

2003 - The Mystery of the Mask: Masks by Fifty Contemporary Artists, at the ILJM

- Vetri di Murano. Glass from the Sartirana Collection, at the ILJM

- Mementos from the Personal Collection of Nonika Galinea, at the ILJM

2004 - Biennale of Young Students of Jewelry Design, at the ILJM

2005 - Stories in Silver: Tobacco, Snuff Boxes and Bullet Cases from the Private

            Collection of Vassilis Korkolopoulos, at the ILJM

- Unusual Lighters: The Power of Fire, at the ILJM

2006 - The Value of Time: Pocket Watches from Greek Collections, at the ILJM

- Ethnic Jewelry from the Private Collection of Liza Moussis, at the ILJM

2007 - Ring Sculptures, works by Aphrodite Liti, at the ILJM

- Micro-sculptures from the Permanent Collections, at the ILJM

- Challenging the Chatelaine, at the ILJM

- New Acquisitions: Presentation of the Donation by Eleni Drakopoulou-

            Merkati, at the ILJM  

2008 - A Tribute to Magnificence, Ilias Lalaounis retrospective exhibition, at the

National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest, Romania                  

- Art – Nature – Culture: Sea Turtles, at the ILJM

- Frivolous Fashion, Fabulous Faux. A Century of Costume Jewelry from

            the Collection of E. Angelopoulou, 1880 – 1980, at the ILJM

2009 - Boîtes de Luxe: 19^th Century French Boxes from the Collection of Janine Nessi-

             Parmentier, at the ILJM

2010 - Timeless Values, Elegance and Fashion in Miniature: Works from the

             Collections of Sophia Barbaressou, Liza Grammatikopoulou-Moussis and

             Marina Totomi, at the ILJM

2011 - Haute Couture and Historic Jewelry from the Collections of the Peloponnesian

            Folklore Foundation, at the ILJM

- NOI: Jewels by Young Designers from Around the World, at the ILJM

- Contemporary Jewelry from Estonia, at the ILJM

2012 - Attic Landscape: Four Contemporary Greek Painters Interact with Objets

            d’ Art from the Wildflowers, Microcosm and Owls Collections by Ilias

                  Lalaounis, at the ILJM 

2013 - Sing in Me Muse. Maria Koutmani Creations in Felt, at the ILJM

- From the Closet to the Reception. Bags and Purses 1800-1980 from the

                Collection of Liza Grammatikopoulou-Moussis, at the ILJM

- Traveling with Greek Mythology and Art. 1973, 2013: 40 Years Later, Students

            from the Kindergarten and IB1 Art of the Moraitis School Create Works

            Inspired by the Permanent Collections of the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum,

at the ILJM

- Kim Walljung: Glass Jewelry Blown from Venice, at the ILJM

2014 - 50 Years of Good Luck Charms. The Art of the Pendant. Works by Ilias

            Lalaounis from the Permanent Collections, at the ILJM 

- Hara Karamichali, Mary Zoe Moustakoudi and Dora Haralambaki. Three Titles,

at the ILJM

2015 - From Zeus to Earth and from Chile to Neapolis. Minerals and Fossils from the

            Private Collection of Geologist Kostas Manakos, at the ILJM 

2016 - New Territories. Greek Studio Jewelry, at the ILJM

Education

The ILJM’s mission is foremost educational. The ILJM offers a multitude of educational programs for school children from pre-school through high school, adults, special interest and special needs groups. It organizes lectures, seminars and workshops on jewelry and the decorative arts. Internships for university students are available.

Library

The ILJM research library contains more than 5000 volumes, including some rare ones. Its holdings are focused on jewelry, the history of art, folk art, design, photography, architecture and the decorative arts in general. It is open to the public by appointment. 

External links

• Official site
• Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism
• City of Athens listing