While it is not unusual for writers to make use of the term “byzantine” when describing Washington, DC, politics, it appears less often in discussions about the city's cultural resources. Nevertheless, the nation's capital has always had more than its share of art works from the fourth to fifteenth centuries. The venerable Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (Fig. 1) permanently houses more than 1,200 objects from those periods and its world-renowned Byzantine Studies Program has, since its establishment in 1940, supported a continuous program of residential fellowships and academic events focusing on the civilization of the Byzantine Empire. Unfortunately (or perhaps not, for those of us who seek the tranquility of this beautiful museum on weekdays) Dumbarton Oaks' Georgetown address has meant that only highly motivated out-of-town museum visitors make the trip to view its treasures (Fig. 2).
The Byzantine Empire has recently come to...