The collection grew out of late 19th century donations, and contains a hundred and seventy nine ceramic objects and a smaller number of stone figurines. Some of them originated from Cyprus, and some of them are attributed to the area of Larnaca, the Ottoman name for a city built on the ruins of ancient Kition.
The objects can be dated to a period from the Bronze Age to the Later Roman Period. The geographical position of Cyprus is much to be credited with the formation of a brilliant culture that developed under the influence of the great cultures of the ancient world.

In prehistory and early historical times, Cyprus produced some of the best ceramic objects the Mediterranean has ever known. Some of the objects from the collection are specimens of Greek and Hellenistic pottery, examples of Corinthian ceramics, such as an oenochoe with two friezes of animals from the 7th century BC, probably from the hill fort known as Kopila over Blato on Korčula.

Some of the vessels belong to Apulian red-figure pottery, black glazed pottery, Gnathia ceramics and common fine ware. On the whole there are no very detailed data about their origin, but it can be assumed that some of them come from local sites, such as Cavtat, Vis, Korčula and Vid.