ANASTASSIOS C. ANTONARAS, a specialist in the history of glass, jewelry and textiles, is an archaeologist and curator, Head of Exhibition, Education and Communication Department at the Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki.
Holds a B.A. in Archaeology from the University of Belgrade, a M.A. in Museum Studies from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and a Ph.d. in Archaeology from the University of Ioannina. Has participated in several excavations in Greece, and the western Balkans since 1985. Since 1994 has participated in the preparation of numerous exhibitions. Has presented papers in many conferences, and has organized several international conferences and symposia. Has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and proceedings, mainly focused in the history of glass, jewelry and textiles. Has participated with entries in many exhibition catalogues, has edited several exhibition catalogues and proceedings of international conferences. Has given lectures in several museums and universities both in USA and Europe. He is member of the editorial board of scientific journals in Europe and USA. He is the president of the International Association for the History of Glass.
His books include: Glassworking, Ancient and Medieval: Terminology, Technology and Typology; A Greek- English-English-Greek Dictionary, also translated in Serbian; Roman and Early Christian Glassworking: Vessels from Thessaloniki and its Region (which received a prize from the Academy of Athens in 2010) and in an updated form was published in English at 2017; Fire and Sand: Ancient Glass in the Princeton University Art Museum 2012; Artisanal Production in Ancient and Byzantine Thessaloniki: Archaeological, Literary and Epigraphic Evidence in 2016 which has received a second edition in 2019; The Art of Glass. Works from the collection of the Museum of Byzantine Culture, 2019.
East of the Theater: Glassware and Glass Production. Corinth XIX.1. Princeton, N.J.: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 2022.
Currently he is researching different aspects of glass production and glassware in Byzantine and Ottoman Empire.