11: The Hall of Athena

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The hall is situated in the south-eastern pavilion of the New Hermitage which was constructed to the design of Leo von Klenze in 1851. The hall with six monolith columns of Serdobolye granite was intended for a library of the Imperial Hermitage. The walls are covered with polished plaster and decorated with pilasters and plates of coloured artificial marble. On the floor is displayed the mosaic from a 4th-century Christian basilica that was unearthed in Chersonesus by Alexei Uvarov in 1854. The exhibition mounted in the hall is devoted to ancient Greek art of the high classical period (5th century BC). Roman copies from works by Myron, Polycleitus and Phidias give us some idea of the superb mastery of these famous sculptors of the classical period. The hall also features Greek articles dating from the 5th century BC - red-figured vases, funeral reliefs and coins. A stamnos and a krater by Master Cleophon (440s-430s BC) are of special importance.