News

UIA delivers unique icons from Ukraine to Germany

Ukraine International Airlines has delivered early Christian icons from the collection of the Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko Arts Museum to an exhibition, which opens today, February26, in Bonn, Germany.

Early Christian Sinai icons of the VI - VII centuries from the collection of the Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko Arts Museum are exceptionally rare and thus valuable. These are the earliest examples of icon painting; they belong to the Byzantine era. There are only 11 of these icons left in the world, four of which belong to the Kiev museum.

In Germany, the icons will be represented at a specialized exhibition called “Byzantium: Splendour and Everyday Life”, which will be held in Bonn from 26 February to 13 June 2010. UIA carried this valuable cargo on its regular flight PS 401 Kiev - Frankfurt on February 18, 2010.

"UIA has a great experience in the carriage of valuable cargo requiring special conditions. The full portfolio includes high-quality solutions for cargo delivery of any degree of complexity, - said Petr Kuharchuk, UIA Director Cargo & Logistics, - The icons transferred to Germany are an extremely delicate and demanding cargo, its fragility is similar to the finest glass. Fluctuations in temperature, humidity and pressure are unacceptable during transportation. Ukraine International Airlines is pleased to deal successfully with such an offbeat and responsible task”.

For information:
The Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko Arts Museum (The Kiev Museum of Western and Oriental Art) is the most significant and systematic collection of classic foreign art in Ukraine; it is founded on the basis of the famous Ukrainian patrons’ private collections. Today the museum holds more than 20 thousand art loans, including not only items from the Khanenko’s collection, but also recent acquisitions.

Back to the list