This is a stunning and comprehensive catalogue showing over 130 pieces of metalwork and ivory dating from 1100 to 1500.
The faking and forgery of works of art and antiquities is probably now more extensive than ever before. The frauds are aided by new technologies, from ink jet printers to epoxy resins, and driven by the astronomic prices realised on the global market. This book aims to provide a comprehensive survey of the subject over a wide range of materials, emphasising how the fakes and forgeries are produced and how they may be detected by technical and scientific examination. The subject is exemplified by numerous case studies, some turning out not to be as conclusive as is sometimes believed. The book is aimed at those likely to have a serious interest in these investigations, be they curator, collector, conservator or scientist. Paul Craddock has recently retired from the Department of Conservation, Documentation and Science at the British Museum, where he was a materials scientist. * The only scientific treatise on the subject * Timely with the rise in value of antiquities and the lucrative business of faking * Written by a specialist from the Department of Scientific Research at the British Museum
Netsuke are exquisite reminders of three centuries of Japanese life. In tiny sculptural masterworks, most under two inches high and originally destined to keep the cord attached to a gentleman's snuffbox from slipping through the belt of his kimono, the myths, legends, and cultural history of Japan is recorded. Tiny Buddhas, grinning female poets of the sixteenth century, monkeys, jesters, and craftsmen beam their imperishable cheerfulness toward the viewer, taking the mystery of the ages in their tiny strides. Netsuke: Japanese Life and Legend in Miniatures features over seventy of these superb artifacts, along with fascinating background on the figure and the object or idea it represents.
Over 600 color photographs feature fashion accessories, toys, dolls, decorative boxes and albums, household and utilitarian articles, grooming aids, and advertising novelties. A chapter on the invention of celluloid and the pyroxylin plastics industry in America, a discussion on care and preservation of celluloid, and a timeline of developments are provided in this vast resource. 2001 values. AUTHORBIO: Keith Lauer is the curator of the National Plastic Center and Museum of Leominster and a native of Marietta, Ohio. Following his semi-retirement he pursued his interest in the history of the plastics industry and its artifacts. He entered local politics and served as a city council member for 14 years. He is a member of the American Plastics History Association, the Plastics Historical Society, the Plastics Pioneers Association, and the Antique Comb Collectors Club International. AUTHORBIO: Julie Robinson lives in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and is the mother of four children. A native of Fayette, Maine, and long-time collector of antiques, in 1991 she enrolled at the Institute for the Study of Antiques and Collectibles in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. As a student, a required research paper began her involvement with celluloid. She is a member of the American Plastics Association, and a freelance writer/photographer. REVIEW: Though many books have been produced on celluloid, this is the first attempt to produce an historically accurate account of the early American pyroxylin plastics industry and the collectible articles produced by the manufacturers thereof. It offers information in word and graphics that will help others share in the satisfaction of collecting and preserving some of the approximately 50,000 different products that have been made of celluloid since its development.
Inspired by a classical education, wealthy Romans populated the glittering interiors of their villas and homes with marble statuettes of ancestors, emperors, gods, and mythological figures. In The Learned Collector, Lea M. Stirling shows how the literary education received by all aristocrats, pagan and Christian alike, was fundamental in shaping their artistic taste while demonstrating how that taste was considered an important marker of status. Surveying collections across the empire, Stirling examines different ways that sculptural collections expressed not only the wealth but the identity of their aristocratic owners.The majority of statues in late antique homes were heirlooms and antiques. Mythological statuary, which would be interpreted in varying degrees of complexity, favored themes reflecting aristocratic pastimes such as dining and hunting. The Learned Collector investigates the manufacture of these distinctive statuettes in the later fourth century, the reasons for their popularity, and their modes of display in Gaul and the empire.Although the destruction of ancient artwork looms large in the common view of late antiquity, statuary of mythological figures continued to be displayed and manufactured into the early fifth century. Stirling surveys the sculptural decor of late antique villas across the empire to reveal the universal and regional trends in the late antique confluence of literary education, mythological references, aristocratic mores, and classicizing taste. Deftly combining art historical, archaeological, and literary evidence, this book will be important to classicists and art historians alike. Stirling's accessible writing style makes this an important work for scholars, students, and anyone with an interest in Roman statues of this era.Lea M. Stirling is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Manitoba and holds a Canada Research Council Chair in Roman Archaeology. She co-directs excavations at the ancient city of Leptiminus, Tunisia.
Beautiful jewelry made from natural materials fill the pages of this sumptuous book. Organized by material—pearls, shells, coral, horn, wood, and much more—with an emphasis on important motifs of the jeweler’s art, the book features more than 300 brooches, necklaces, rings, earrings, and bracelets from the collections of the Duchess of Windsor, Diana Vreeland, Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Grace of Monaco, and Ellen Barkin, as well as from the design archives of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Verdura, Bulgari, Tiffany, and many other important jewelry designers. Every major period of jewelry of the past 200 years is covered—Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Retro, and Contemporary. Many of the objects appear here for the first time. The chapters include a variety of entertaining profiles on subjects such as David Webb; the changing fashions of the 1960s and 70s; Chanel; Orchids and Art Nouveau; the Grand Tour; Cartier and Art Deco; Ivory and the Nude; the Baroda pearls (the most expensive pearls to sell at auction); Paul Poiret; Boivin; A Mania for Motifs; JAR; Andrew Grima; and the Duchess of Windsor ("Small Woman, Big Stones"). Helpful sidebars cover various types of wood, famous pearls, and a lexicon of imaginary beasts in jewelry. “For those of us who consider jewelry part of enduring style, Living Jewels is a must. Here’s a book that is welcoming and inspiring, and a tribute to the artists who have made these exquisite pieces. Living Jewels is a book I’ll treasure.” ~ Kate Spade “Living Jewels sends a message, loud and clear: there’s more to fine jewelry than gemstones. A lot more, as it turns out. Ruth Peltason has assembled two centuries’ worth of spectacular examples, showcasing materials and techniques long considered peripheral or inferior to the big rocks that have dominated the category and its history. The result makes an expert, irrefutable case for coral, wood, pearls, amber, shell, horn, and any number of nature’s other sublime inventions as inspiration for exquisite artistry and design. As stylish, witty, and glamorous as the treasures it celebrates, Living Jewels is destined to become an instant, indispensable reference for connoisseurs and an irresistible delight for any woman who loves jewelry and wears it.” ~ Holly Brubach
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