Jewelry, Ancient to Modern


Book Description

"Written by a team of the Gallery's own curators and visiting experts, Jewelry -- Ancient to Modern describes more than 700 pieces in special sections devoted to the Ancient near East, Egypt, Etruria, Greece, South Russia (Olbia), the Roman Empire, the nomadic tribes of the Migration Period, the Byzantine Empire, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries."--Page 2 of cover.




Ancient Modern


Book Description

Artistically combining polymer clay with wire, this distinctive manual teaches crafters and jewelry makers how to create organic, sophisticated, and contemporary jewelry. A range of innovative techniques in designing beads and components from polymer clay are combined with wireworking elements, inspired clasps and ear wires, wire bead caps, polymer clay tipped head pins, and more for a signature look. Explaining fundamentals of jewelry design, this manual also delves into what makes a piece "primitive" and how to achieve an organic effect through color mixing and textures. Included are a wide variety of polymer clay and wire jewelry design and texture techniques, 15 one-of-a-kind detailed projects, and a gallery of completed works.




Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry


Book Description

From the president of the National Jewelry Institute comes the largest collection of the oldest jeweled objects ever assembled. With sparkling photography and history throughout, the book will be supported by a major exhibit of the collection. These gorgeous artifacts—the oldest jeweled armor, weapons, jewelry, household objects, and more, with informative captions and stunning photography on every page—originated in Mesopotamia, Persia, Levant, the Byzantine Empire, and the Islamic world, from 4000 B.C.E. through 700 C.E. Artifacts appearing in the book are being lent to the exhibit by almost every major permanent collection of ancient objects in the world: jeweled treasures from the Louvre, the Berlin Museum, the Islamic collection at the Metropolitan, the Princeton Museum, and the Israeli Museum are shown together for the first time. Also included are interviews with major scholars and curators from around the world, speaking on ancient civilizations and the remaining artifacts that reveal their truly stunning cultures.




Metropolitan Jewelry


Book Description

This book highlights pieces of jewellery from ancient and modern cultures in every part of the globe. Of special interest are the objects that appear in paintings and other works of art: jewel-studded gowns, glittering Renaissance brooches and an Egyptian beaded collar are among the featured works from the "Metropolitan Museum"'s collection. Necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets fill this book and also included are objects of religious significance, military honours and other kinds of personal decoration. The captions relate anecdotes concerning the artists and wearers and describe the history and style of the jewellery pictured.




I Love Those Earrings


Book Description

Earrings can talk-of mourning a dead king, supporting a revolution, or resisting an emperor. They have carried the message that a proper Victorian believed in Darwin, and that a woman invited a lover to her bed. Raid the jewelry boxes of the glamorous, legendary, and everyday chic women alike. See what earrings they have worn, when, and why, in ways that bespeak their way of life and personality, and how jewelry carries family and cultural heritage with style. Looking at earrings as tiny sculptures, here are details about gems, settings, and fixtures. Lavishly embellished with over 300 images of jewelry ranging from the Byzantine era to the contemporary artisan, the styles of design, relationships to dress, portraiture and symbolism, and other aspects of adornment are elaborated upon. With research-based anecdotes and her own life in earrings, the author tells a story that will engage anyone interested in celebrities, monarchies, and the barely recorded lives of women of the past, and, of course, anyone who loves beautiful jewelry.




Ancient and Modern Gems and Jewels


Book Description

"This catalogue is the first comprehensive study of the 328 objects that make up this little-known area of the Royal Collection. The ancient gems and intaglios have been catalogued by John Boardman, and although they are few in number, they include the magnificent Claudius cameo that was once in the collection of Charles I. The later, post-Renaissance pieces have been studied by Kirsten Aschengreen Piacenti, and these include the great Tudor portrait cameos, a superb series of Italian sixteenth-century portrait cameos of North Italian 'Beauties', the group of exquisite eighteenth-century Italian carnelians bought by George III from Consul Smith in 1762 and a fine selection of Garter badges, several bearing the signature of the gem-engravers Marchant and Burch." "Close examination by gemmologists has produced an accurate technical analysis of all the stones and settings, and newly commissioned photographs bring out the distinctive features of each piece. Casts are illustrated wherever possible, and close-tip images of signatures, inscriptions and hallmarks support the detailed descriptions in the text. Research into the collection has resulted in new information concerning the mounts of many of the gems, and this is summarised in an illustrated appendix. Also published in full, and for the first time, is the collection of intaglios once owned by Henry, Prince of Wales, which was recorded in a series of wax impressions made by Elias Ashmole at the request of Charles II in June 1660."--BOOK JACKET.




Ancient Egyptian Jewelry


Book Description

This picture book features images of Ancient Egyptian Jewelry covering works from Pre-dynastic shell necklaces to intricately designed gold earrings of the Roman period. A brief introductory essay discusses the history of jewelry and the evolution of Ancient Egyptian jewelry craftsmanship.




Looking at Jewelry


Book Description

What is a cabochon? What are the various types of gilding? What is vermeil? This accessible book—the first of its kind—offers concise explanations of key jewelry terms. The fascination with personal adornment is universal. It is a preoccupation that is primal, instinctive, and uniquely human. Jewelry encompasses a seemingly endless number of ornaments produced across time and in all cultures. The range of materials and techniques used in its construction is extraordinary, even revolutionary, with new substances and methods of fabrication added with every generation. In any given society, master artisans have devoted their time, energy, and talent to the fine art of jewelry making, creating some of the most spectacular objects known to humankind. This volume, geared toward jewelry makers, scholars, scientists, students, and fashionistas alike, begins with a lively introduction that offers a cultural history of jewelry and its production. The main text provides information on the most common, iconic, and culturally significant forms of jewelry and also covers materials, techniques, and manufacturing processes. Containing more than eighty color illustrations, this guide will be invaluable to all those wishing to increase their understanding and enjoyment of the art of jewelry.




A History of Jewelry


Book Description

Documents jewelry's history from the primitive ornaments of prehistoric times to the abstract simplicity of modern design




The Modern History of Celtic Jewellery


Book Description

From the recovery after the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s to the booming Celtic Tiger of the 1990s, a revival of the ancient traditions of Celtic jewelry have become a part of how the Irish, as well as the Scots, Welsh and other Celts have expressed their cultural identity. Usually the story of this tradition focuses on very old prototypes, the museum pieces turned up by archaeologists or the legend of the original Claddagh ring. In our imagination, we connect the popular Celtic jewelry of today with the distant past. But that link with the ancient style was very much influenced by what others had done in more recent history. The story of is told by four authors. Tara Kelly writes of the early Celtic Revival manufacture of facsimiles of medieval Irish metalwork in Victorian Dublin and how the success of that enterprise lead to historical Celtic jewellery to become iconic symbols of Irish identity. Mairi MacArthur tells the story of Alexander and Euphemia Ritchie who created the foundation for modern Scottish Celtic jewellery on the Isle of Iona in the early 20th century. Aidan Breen, himself a pioneer of the late 20th century Celtic Renaissance, recalls his career beginning with an apprenticeship with Dublin silversmiths which trained him in the traditions of the older Celtic Revival. Stephen Walker, craftsman and collector, brings the story together as it spans 150 years, from Scottish pebble jewellery to the innovative modern Celtic creations of the Arts and Crafts Movement. 69 color photographs and 29 black and white illustrations.