The placard on the museum building says (as of 2013) "Perides Museum - Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation". The collection was initiated by Demetrios Pierides, in the 19th century (1811 - 1895), with the aim of protecting and preserving Cyprus' antiquities and preventing the loss of the island's history.
The collections were built by five generations of the family. The archaeological collection is housed in the old residence of the Pierides family, a colonial style building, built in 1825. The exhibits beginning from the Neolithic times through the Bronze Age, Geometric, Archaic, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine - Medieval ages.
There is also a cartography collection of old maps and charts of Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean as well as a collection of Greek and Roman glassware.
Currently the museum is managed by Peter Ashdjian, an 8th generation Pierides.