The history of Cyprus in wax
If you can’t stand the heat and are taking refuge in the mountains, why not visit the waxwork museum while you are there?
FACE to face meetings with the folk who made Cyprus history await visitors to the Fatsa wax museum in the famous lace making village of Lefkara.
The museum, which opened earlier this year, contains more than 150 finely-sculpted wax models, covering 3,000 years of Cyprus life, from the Neolithic period to the present day.
Upon entering the main exhibition hall I was greeted by a parade of Cypriot politicians led by the first President, Archbishop Makarios, and his successors Spyros Kyprianou, George Vassiliou, Glafcos Clerides, and today’s holder of the post, Tassos Papadopoulos.
Alongside them, in a series of tableaux depicting golden or dramatic moments of Hellenic life, are St Helen, mother of Constantine the Great, and her husband the Emperor Constantinos Chlorus, Archbishop Kyprianos, legendary hero of the Greek resistance against the Ottoman empire who was hanged in 1821, the formidable General Grivas, leader of the independence fight against the British in the 1950s, modern day checkpoints with UN soldiers in blue helmets, a traditional Cyprus country wedding and depictions of village life of days gone by, such as backgammon, embroidery, pottery, winemaking and lokoumades frying.
General Manager and owner, Pambos Nicolaides said that “the museum is a family project as we are all passionate about our history and wanted to show it off to youngsters who don’t know much about it. I see the museum as a shining pearl of Cyprus’ cultural inheritance and a valid point of reference and remembrance of the intricacies of Cyprus’ history.”
There are eight themed segments, marking a chronological review of the island’s historical, cultural and political past.
Highlights include the Age of Copper – the metal which got its name from the island – the classical era of ancient Greeks and Romans, the Ottoman and British occupations, the 1955-59 war of freedom, the 1974 coup, the Turkish invasion and contemporary history, which also includes a review of the traditional professions of Lefkara.
Nicolaides said “the wax models have been created by a team of Russian experts, who made a close study of Cyprus through the centuries in order to produce the essence of the island’s life. Each model took two months to create, using paraffin wax, beeswax and a hardener and cost between £4,000 to £6,000. The hair is real and the eyes are made of the same material used by hospitals to treat people who have lost the organ. The make-up needs to be reapplied every six months as the wax absorbs it.”
He added “anybody looking around can see they have done an excellent job, as their works carry us through the oceans of time. What you see here today is not the end, it is just the beginning, and we plan to continue to enrich the nature of the museum and create an electronic path for information gathering around the themes we present here.”
This will take the form of eight computer terminals at exhibits, which will also show short films in English, Greek, German and Russian.
Nicolaides said that he didn’t want to the museum to be “like Madame Tussauds, but wanted it to be only about Cyprus so that it can remind present and future generations of the problems that were faced and overcome by Cypriots throughout history, as they provided a series of ideals for their country.”
The museum has grown from a dream Nicolaides nurtured for such a museum, spurred on by a great love for his island and his firm belief that the political inheritance of each country defines the quality and identity of a nation.
When asked why Lefkara was chosen as the museum’s venue, Nicolaides said “I chose the village due to its famous historical background.”
During the Byzantine period, the art of weaving costly textiles for the European market, mainly for ecclesiastical use, was centred in Constantinople, but after the Crusades, when Cyprus became the only secular Latin stronghold in the eastern Mediterranean and a prosperous commercial centre, the tradition of making valuable textiles and embroideries became concentrated here.
It is, however, the period of the Venetian occupation (1489-1571), which produced ‘Lefkaritika’, a form of needlework which has survived and flourished in almost its original form to the present day. This type of drawn and counted thread embroidery, famous all over the world, is made by the women of Lefkara. The mountain village was the principal summer resort of wealthy Venetians and the local women would have come into close daily contact with their household linen.
It is even reputed that Leonardo da Vinci, on a visit to Cyprus, was very impressed by the Lefkara women’s adaptation of Venetian embroidery. He is said to have taken a piece of work with the ‘potamos’ design on it back to Italy to grace the altar in Milan Cathedral.
In recognition of da Vinci’s visit, the man himself has his own exhibit in the museum’s foyer.
The other main handicraft industry in the village is silver crafting, with the speciality of the silversmiths being filigree work.
The museum also has a souvenir shop offering hand made objects related to the wax models, along with a gallery and small caf?. The whole environment of the museum is designed to accommodate disabled visitors.
l Fatsa Wax Museum, Georgiou Papandreou Street, Pano Lefkara. Tel: 24 621048
