The Patriarchal Staff of Dionysios IV

This work is an exquisite example of the art of Constantinople at this period and exhibits an impressive level of workmanship and aesthetics, common in the European courts. Its creator, Michalakis Frantzis, was one of the Greek specialists in enamel work in Constantinople. We know that some of them were invited to work in Kremlin, Moscow, during the 17th century; and there are objects of the same style and value in the Armory in the Kremlin.
The staff was donated to the Monastery of Patmos by the Ecumenical Patriarch Neofytos VI in 1747, originally belonging to Ecumenical Patriarch Dionysios IV. It stands out as the finest item of the monastery's collection of 17th century enamel treasures, a group of objects with eastern influences and a strong Ottoman climate. The 17th century -up until the Venetian-Turkish wars- was a period of prosperity for Patmos, with its ships in active commercial activity between ports in Asia Minor and Italy. Consequently, there is a significant number of works in the treasury that illustrate the relations of the Monastery with the East and West.