The Churches of India takes the reader on a fascinating journey through India to discover the history and architecture of the country’s Christian churches. With fine illustrations and an informative, easy-to-read text the book reveals the diverse architectural styles that have evolved in different regions from the very beginnings of the Common Era identified with the birth of Christ.
Churches have been built in greater numbers from the middle of the last millennium when settlers such as the Armenians and colonisers, Portuguese, French and British, brought their own branches of Christianity and religious architecture with them. Many churches were indigenized over time while others have retained their architecture in its pure form.
Joanne Taylor’s work gives the reader a deep feeling for the range of churches and their architecture, from the humble to the grand. It is also a fine history of the search by those who design or adapt buildings for a self-identity through the symbolism, explicit or implicit, expressed in built forms.
Religious buildings give India its identity as a nation of diverse people with their own cultures. It is a country with one of the world’s richest architectural traditions. Complemented by over 300 photographs, this absorbing book is the most comprehensive work on India’s churches to date.
Insurgency and the Artist explores not merely how Indian printmakers and artists responded to the freedom struggle but also how the art they fashioned invoked their own conception of the nation, their sense of the past, and the contors of the movement for India’s emancipation from the yoke of colonial oppression. Recent scholarly work has been almost entirely riveted on nationalist prints, and much of it has focused on the idea of Bharat Mata, but this book seeks to furnish a more rounded account of the artwork — including etchings, paintings, woodblocks prints, and cartoons — contemporary to the freedom struggle and also highlights the work of neglected artists such as Babuji Shilpi, S.L. Parasher, Zainul Abedin, and M.V. Dhurandhar, among others. The author considers how the Indian past was rendered as one of martial resistance to ‘foreign’ rule, the manner in which artists worked with mythic material, and, of course, the treatment of the larger-than-life figures of Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Subhas Bose, and other patriots in nationalist art. This gloriously illustrated work simultaneously offers a narrative history of the freedom struggle and the rich interplay of text and images is designed to offer insights that neither conventional histories nor images can offer in isolation. Insurgency and the Artist is also an inquiry into how ideas travel across borders, the porousness of culture, and the relationship of art to politics.
500 years ago in Venice, the first ghetto was born. It was the first of many ‘Jewish enclosures’ ordained by political powers, such as the Venetian senate. A place to confine, it soon became an important cosmopolitan and commercial centre of the Republic. The architectural structure of its housing, which became extraordinarily high to accommodate the increasing number of inhabitants, is strictly interlaced with Venetian history, economy and culture. As one of the main Jewish centres in Italy and the Mediterranean, Venice played a crucial role in the Jewish world. The Venetian word ‘geto’ (from ‘gettare’, to throw away) originated from the sector of Venice where scrap metal accumulated from foundries. This was the area assigned to the Jews. Thus the word, over the course of time, has become a synonym for segregation. “Venice, the Jews, and Europe” exhibition runs in Venice until November 13 2016. Dontatella Calabi will be promoting his book at the ‘Beyond the Ghetto’ symposium in New York, hosted by the Center for Jewish History, on 18-19 September 2016.
Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850-1950 portrays the history of romantic love between men in hundreds of moving and tender vernacular photographs taken between the years 1850 and 1950. This visual narrative of astonishing sensitivity brings to light an until-now-unpublished collection of hundreds of snapshots, portraits, and group photos taken in the most varied of contexts, both private and public.
Taken when male partnerships were often illegal, the photos here were found at flea markets, in shoe boxes, family archives, old suitcases, and later online and at auctions. The collection now includes photos from all over the world: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Japan, Greece, Latvia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Serbia. The subjects were identified as couples by that unmistakable look in the eyes of two people in love – impossible to manufacture or hide. They were also recognized by body language – evidence as subtle as one hand barely grazing another – and by inscriptions, often coded.
Included here are ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, glass negatives, tin types, cabinet cards, photo postcards, photo strips, photomatics, and snapshots – over 100 years of social history and the development of photography.
Loving will be produced to the highest standards in illustrated book publishing, The photographs – many fragile from age or handling – have been digitized using a technology derived from that used on surveillance satellites and available in only five places around the world. Paper and other materials are among the best available. And Loving will be manufactured at one of the world’s elite printers. Loving, the book, will be up to the measure of its message in every way.
In these delight-filled pages, couples in love tell their own story for the first time at a time when joy and hope – indeed human connectivity – are crucial lifelines to our better selves. Universal in reach and overwhelming in impact, Loving speaks to our spirit and resilience, our capacity for bliss, and our longing for the shared truths of love.
Du Paquier, an independently operating Viennese porcelain factory, was established in 1718, only eight years after Meissen. Although its heyday was brief, lasting only twenty-five years, Du Paquier produced porcelain of great beauty, notable for an enchantingly graceful style and consummate sophistication of execution. In three sumptuously illustrated volumes, scholars of international standing present the distinctive style and the exciting history of Du Paquier porcelain in the context of Baroque Vienna. The first comprehensive publication on this important porcelain factory, this work has been made possible through a five-year research programme conducted by the Melinda and Paul Sullivan Foundation for the Decorative Arts. The objects shown, many of them for the first time here, are in major public and private collections. The first volume deals with the historical and stylistic background of Du Paquier porcelain: art and architecture in early eighteenth-century Baroque Vienna; furthermore, the history of the porcelain factory, its style and its manifold sources of inspiration as well as Du Paquier’s relationship to Meissen and the role played at Du Paquier by independent porcelain painters and decorators. The second volume places this Viennese porcelain in its cultural context, providing broad-ranging information on court banquet ceremony as well as private pleasures such as drinking and festive dining. Objects used in aristocratic circles are shown along with choice presents of state made to the Ottoman and Russian courts. In addition, this volume contains a new study on the Dubsky Room, the only room still in existence devoted to Du Paquier porcelain. The contents of the third volume include an annotated catalogue comprising approximately 500 objects, scholarly analysis and a chapter on the history of collecting Du Paquier porcelain, an inventory of the Dubsky Room, a bilingual glossary of terms and a complete bibliography. An enclosed CD-ROM contains transcriptions of original documents that have played an important role in the history of the Du Paquier porcelain factory. “This definitive work provides a fascinating survey of Viennese baroque court culture.”
The Art Newspaper
Stucco decorations have traditionally been studied considering their formal and artistic qualities. Although much research and numerous publications have explored the works of stucco artists and their cultural context, little attention has been paid to their professional role in relation to the other actors involved in the decorative process (architects, painters, sculptors, patrons), the technical skills of these artists, and how their know-how contributed to the great professional success they enjoyed. From the 16th to the 18th century, many of the stucco decorations in churches and palaces throughout Europe were made by masters from the border area between what is now Canton Ticino and Lombardy. This collection of essays aims to examine how these artists worked from Spain to Poland, from Denmark to Italy, via the Netherlands, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Austria, adapting to the realities of the different contexts. The authors examine these issues with an interdisciplinary approach, considering art history and social history, the history of artistic techniques, and the science of materials.
Text in English and Italian.
“For Iris Fishof, a piece of jewelry is not merely an ornament but it can be a reflection of societal history. Her extensive, beautifully illustrated history, “Jewellery in Israel Multicultural Diversity 1948 to the Present” is the first book of its kind. Fishof, an Israeli art historian and curator, begins with folk artists who worked in pre-state Israel and covers the establishment of the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in 1906 and the role of immigrants, like the Germans who brought the modernist Bauhaus tradition with them in the 1930s and Yemenites who brought their own intricate silversmith traditions in the 1950s. She describes contemporary internationally recognized artists working in various materials and styles, still with a ‘distinctly local flavor’.” – The Jewish Week
In Israel East meets West. Their jewelry traditions blend, resulting in creative innovations. In the 1930s, European immigrants introduced the spirit of the Bauhaus, while oriental craftsmanship was invigorated in the 1950s and 1960s by immigration from Islamic countries. State jewelry companies preserved traditional crafts, while at the same time developing a new and elegant style, designed to express the national identity of the still young state of Israel. There are important links between native jewelry makers and European and American jewelry artists, who were guest lecturers at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in the 1970s and had a lasting influence on Israeli artists. The transition to art jewelry was finally completed in the 1980s, paving the way for artists who are now internationally renowned. A further chapter is dedicated to contemporary works by some outstanding young artists. Although their works are part of the global jewelry scene, they are also dedicated to their homeland, for example through unequivocal references to local political tensions.
Artists (a selection): Bianca Eshel Gershuni, Esther Knobel, Deganit Stern Schocken, Vered Kaminski, Attai Chen.
“From a historical point of point, the book is fascinating… From a literary point of view, it’s eloquent … If you’re a Bordeaux wine collector with deep pockets and a large cellar, it’s invaluable.” —Tamlyn Currin, Jancis Robinson
“Associations and societies such as the Bordeaux Club are the very acme of civilization. Botticelli and Bach were engaged in the eternal quest for truth and beauty in painting and music, and the Bordeaux Club did the same for viniculture.” — Andrew Roberts
“For lovers of claret – indeed, all wine – this can only be described as a drool-inducing book.” — World of Fine Wine
The story of 12 friends who gathered to share and celebrate the extraordinary wines of Bordeaux. Like-minded in their love of wine, they differed wildly (often alarmingly!) in their personal wealth, life and circumstances – their opinions, always voiced, had the power to ignite anger and divide friendships just as easily as they bound them together. Neil McKendrick, member and minute-taker for 57 of the Club’s 70 extraordinary years, weaves the tale of this convivial group with the rigor of a Cambridge academic (he is ex-Master of Gonville and Caius) and the humor of a born raconteur. Alongside the likes of Hugh Johnson, Steven Spurrier and Michael Broadbent, he celebrates the beauty of top-class Bordeaux and the splendour of each setting – from glorious country park to rickety Dickensian boardroom – in which these men were lucky enough to dine, serving up memories of vintages the like of which we will never see again.
Du Paquier, an independently operating Viennese porcelain factory, was established in 1718, only eight years after Meissen. Although its heyday was brief, lasting only twenty-five years, Du Paquier produced porcelain of great beauty, notable for an enchantingly graceful style and consummate sophistication of execution. In three sumptuously illustrated volumes, scholars of international standing present the distinctive style and the exciting history of Du Paquier porcelain in the context of Baroque Vienna. The first comprehensive publication on this important porcelain factory, this work has been made possible through a five-year research programme conducted by the Melinda and Paul Sullivan Foundation for the Decorative Arts. The objects shown, many of them for the first time here, are in major public and private collections. The first volume deals with the historical and stylistic background of Du Paquier porcelain: art and architecture in early eighteenth-century Baroque Vienna; furthermore, the history of the porcelain factory, its style and its manifold sources of inspiration as well as Du Paquier’s relationship to Meissen and the role played at Du Paquier by independent porcelain painters and decorators. The second volume places this Viennese porcelain in its cultural context, providing broad-ranging information on court banquet ceremony as well as private pleasures such as drinking and festive dining. Objects used in aristocratic circles are shown along with choice presents of state made to the Ottoman and Russian courts. In addition, this volume contains a new study on the Dubsky Room, the only room still in existence devoted to Du Paquier porcelain. The contents of the third volume include an annotated catalogue comprising approximately 500 objects, scholarly analysis and a chapter on the history of collecting Du Paquier porcelain, an inventory of the Dubsky Room, a bilingual glossary of terms and a complete bibliography. An enclosed CD-ROM contains transcriptions of original documents that have played an important role in the history of the Du Paquier porcelain factory. Text in German
This delightfully illustrated volume introduces children and their families to the arts of the Indian subcontinent, spanning nearly two thousand years of artwork. Young readers will explore ancient lore, royal palaces, sacred sites, lush nature, and more, through more than sixty works from the rich collection of the San Diego Museum of Art. Interactive features provide opportunities for further investigation of the themes, history, and artistic techniques discussed in the book. Peacocks and Palaces: Exploring the Art of India is the second instalment in the “Art Unframed” series from the San Diego Museum of Art, which guides children and families toward a deeper understanding of important traditions in the history of art through works in the Museum’s permanent collection.
From the authors of Understanding Jewellery, considered to be one of the most important and frequently referenced books on jewelry ever produced, Age of Grandeur focuses solely on the 19th century, bringing with it over 250 new color photographs of jewelry from this most celebrated era.
Taking the reader through the history of jewelry over the decades, we learn how and why particular styles came about and then changed. From Napoleonic classicism and Victorian sentimental and memorial jewelry, through the Romantic era and its penchant for naturalism, the Gothic style and recreation of the Renaissance and, finally, the unique designs of the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau periods, this comprehensive study enlightens and fascinates. With stunning photographs accompanying us on our journey through the decades, creating a rich visual history that brings the text to life, this book remains the essential bible on 19th-century jewelry.
The following is inscribed on page 308 of the author’s copy of Bertrand Russell’s A History of Western Philosophy:
‘During this chapter decided to write a history of landscape architecture, at 10.05am Sunday 23rd May 1958‘, and ‘completed at Taormina, Feb. 1975‘
Ten years later the idea of translating his great work The Landscape of Man
into visible form was formulated at Seattle on the evening of 19 May 1985. The sketch plan, with little future deviation, was completed in time for breakfast the following morning.
The Historical Gardens that this book describes are only part of a multi-million twenty year programme initiated by the Moody Foundation for the enrichment of Galveston, Texas – a city destroyed by inundation in 1900 and now materially recovered. The site of the gardens themselves is twenty-five acres of flat land adjoining sea marshes. This will be divided by artificial mountains into West and East. There will be fifteen cultures and the guide will take the visitor through them by water in a spectacular mile-long odyssey. First comes the western classical sequence, heralded by a succession of water trumpets: Eden, Egypt, Rome, Islam, the middle ages, 16th century Italy, 17th century France, 19th century England. Then follows a twisting tour through 18th century romantic Europe, through the awesome mountain within which lie the painted caves of universal pre-historic man. Thence through the three spheres of China: Taoism, Tao-Buddha, and pure Buddhism; and so home through Japan and primeval forest. The journey by water-bus should awaken visitors’ interest to return on foot to study more closely what is in fact a cultural history of the world as seen in miniature through landscape.
While it is essential that the interpretation of the spirit of history should be academically correct, this principal and, we hope, enchanting composition of cultures (elsewhere usually in opposition one to another in time, space and philosophy) is intended to be a single deeply suggestive work of surrealist art of our own time.
Of the 200 black and white and 32 color illustrations, over 100 are fine detailed drawings and sketches by the author.
“Fascinating details of the original pictures and a social history of footwear fashion” VOGUE
In acclaimed photographer Lois Lammerhuber’s pictures, shod feet in the Louvre paintings reveal undreamt-of information about people. The details are not only separate works of art, but also studies on centuries of shoe fashion and an excursion into social history. Almost intimate, the photographs raise the world of feet and footwear to eye level, showing delicate shoes and stout limbs; feet without shoes and shoes without feet. The viewing angle is a special one, not only for art enthusiasts but also for shoe lovers. Raphael, Goya, or Ingres did not produce or design footwear, but they all ‘recorded’ shoes, contributing to a history of footwear and at the same time creating fashion archives of shoes that people stepped out in between 1280 and 1863. In a brilliant discourse, Margo Glantz, an icon of Mexican literary studies, introduces the viewer to original thoughts on painting and footwear design, the history and sociology of shoes. Text in English, German, French & Spanish.
Yangon Echoes welcomes readers behind the façades of heritage buildings to offer intimate views on life in the cosmopolitan city formerly known as Rangoon, Burma. An unprecedented work of oral history, Yangon Echoes is a rich anthology of fascinating life stories exploring notions and values of heritage and home. This popular history of buildings charts social space and urban folklore, linking past to present via living memories. The storytellers speak of joy and tragedy, simple pleasures and aching issues, candidly sharing their thoughts and feelings of living through Yangon’s emergence from decades of stagnation to engagement with a rapidly spinning world. Told with courage and charm, these informal stories record everyday life through domestic connections to old places.
“The rich tapestry of multicultural Yangon is reflected wonderfully in this brilliant book, a fusion of intangible and tangible heritage that is often overlooked in architectural studies of cities.” William Logan, Professor Emeritus, Deakin University, Melbourne
“This is a precious and intimate history of buildings.” Prof. Su Su, Department of Architecture, Mandalay Technological University
“Yangon Echoes gives voice to resilient people caught in a whirlwind of urban change. Their captivating stories breathe life into the places they’ve called home and transform ordinary buildings into extraordinary repositories of families lives.” Jeff Cody, Senior Project Specialist, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles
The mansions of North Kolkata described in Great Houses of Calcutta were built by the cream of the indigenous elite during the city’s colonial era. Some exceptions apart, these are now largely forlorn reminders of the ways of life, aspirations and aesthetic values of the wealthy Indian land owners, bankers and traders who flourished during the heyday of the city’s colonial era of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The houses are an important part of the urban and architectural history of Kolkata and are past representatives of the ongoing debate over what it means to be modern while representing a living culture in built form.
Taking off from Joanne Taylor’s widely acclaimed award-winning book The Forgotten Palaces of Calcutta and drawing from her thesis The Great Houses of Kolkata, 1750-2006, this book is a more comprehensive endeavor bringing in Joanne Taylor’s first hand experiences and research in Kolkata and Jon Lang’s knowledge of the broader context of architectural history and the attempts to display contemporary design attitudes in built form, not only in today’s changing world but also during India’s colonial and post-colonial eras.
Seventy-five years of the legendary Italian-made Ferrari motor and racing car, captured in photographs by Günther Raupp, who during the course of his career has taken pictures of almost every Ferrari ever built.
The results of his eye-catching style and perfect technique are more than just plain photos. They reveal the car’s soul. In this book, he chooses the images that he considers among his best, photographs that make the brand’s history come alive. Writer Jürgen Lewandowski gives an expert presentation of the history of Ferrari, from the founding by Enzo Ferrari until today.
For world-class drivers like Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Niki Lauda, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, winning in a Ferrari was an outstanding experience. For many it was the crowning moment of their career. But even off the race track the sports cars from Maranello are impressive: not just the sporting qualities, but also the bodies, drawn by Italy’s best designers, including Bertone and especially Pininfarina. Günther Raupp photographs racing cars as well as road cars and makes 75 years of history of the Italian brand come alive.
Text in English and German.
Once, nutmeg was worth its weight in gold. For much of human history, the tiny Banda Islands in Indonesia were the only source of this esteemed spice. From the age of the Silk Roads through to the mid-19th century partial shift of production to the Caribbean, covering battles between the Honourable East India Company and the Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, this book traces the story of nutmeg, revealing its extensive and often surprising influence over conflict, politics, social mores, and Western society.
Beautiful antique silver, gold, enamel, bone, ivory, treen and Tunbridgeware graters and rasps demonstrate how much nutmeg was valued throughout history. This book gathers pictures of some of the finest examples world-wide, alongside mechanical and base metal graters and spice containers. It illustrates, and provides useful information on, the history of pomanders which were associated with nutmeg, as this spice was once thought to ward off pestilence and plague.
Combining the social history of nutmeg with explanations of the spice production and transportation process, and illustrating in detail examples in international nutmeg grater collections and museums, this book is the essential reference work for collectors, antique dealers and auctioneers.
“A jewel of Baroque architecture, the Castelluccio Palace is the spotlight of a beautiful book retracing its history, its long restoration and its precious ornaments. These photographs reflect the Sicilian Golden Age.” —Fanny Guenon des Mesnards, AD France
“This monograph is an invitation to visit the Palazzo Di Lorenzo del Castelluccio.”—Italian Vogue
“A Palace in Sicily: A Masterpiece Restored doesn’t just pull back the curtain on the finished palace, it details the four-year-long process through an elaborate array of photos…” —Architectural Digest, and Yahoo
With its sun-drenched sands and Mediterranean waters, Sicily has been a favored destination of travelers for centuries. History is alive on this island, from ancient accounts of the Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans; to the journals of wealthy young European men embarking on the Grand Tour. This book captures the sun-steeped aesthetic of the island, while detailing the restoration of one of its finest attractions: the Di Lorenzo del Castelluccio palace.
Marquis de Castelluccio was one of the last “servals” or “leopards” of Sicily – wealthy aristocrats who flooded the island with luxury. Following his death, his home fell to ruin. A half-century later, Jean-Louis Remilleux fell in love with this dilapidated 18th-century palace and made it his mission to restore it. Unveiled for the first time in this beautifully illustrated book, the Di Lorenzo del Castelluccio palazzo is one of the finest testaments to Sicilian architecture and art.
Today, lush green palm trees welcome you to the palace’s imposing front façade. Frescoes, arabesques, masks, imitation marble, ceilings and wainscoting have all restored to their former glory, over decades of elaborate work. This book charts the restoration process and celebrates the astonishing end results. It contains an album’s worth of photographs that capture the beauty of this palace beneath the Mediterranean sun.
Loving II, the sequel to Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s – 1950s, is a stunning collection of vintage vernacular photographs of romantic male couples. Drawn from the Nini-Treadwell Collection of over 4000 photos, some as much as 175 years old, the selection conveys the unadulterated joy – longed for by all of us and recognizable to anyone – of being in love.
Starting from the earliest years of photography and continuing through the 1950s, this collection comprises daguerreotypes, silver gelatins, tintypes, ambrotypes, snap shots, and many more – a cross section of a century of photographic technique. The subjects come from all walks of life: soldiers, farmers, students, the young and the old, the poor and the affluent.
These photographs were taken when being recognized as gay was to risk retribution, ridicule, banishment, imprisonment, and possibly death. They remained locked away during their subjects’ lifetimes for their very survival. The journeys that eventually brought them to the attention of Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell are mostly unknown, with only a few exceptions. Discovered in a variety of ways, sometimes tucked away in antique shops and flea markets, they had slipped into the cracks of photographic history before being added to the Nini-Treadwell Collection one at a time, over a 25-year period.
These courageous couples, from so long ago, who took and protected these photos, could not have imagined that one day their mementos of love would appear in a book that has been embraced all over the world. So much so that a second volume was necessary.
These couples sent a message to the future. The question now is, what message will we send?
“This is the best, most comprehensive jazz book I’ve ever seen – and I’ve bought them all.” -Terry O’Neill “In these photographs… the music plays on, never dated, always right on time.” – John Leland, New York Times “Williams was an important part of jazz history, and this book belongs in the collection of anyone interested in the history of America’s greatest art form.” – DownBeat From the smoky backstage dressing rooms of New York and Chicago’s pioneering jazz clubs to the acclaimed Jazz festivals that flourished to enthral legions of fans, Ted Williams’ camera captured the intimacy and the wizardry of Jazz’s greats as they perfected their art over more than three decades from the 1940s-1970s. From his unique access and perspective, Williams diligently accumulated a unique and largely unseen archive that documented some of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, the jazz and blues musicians who themselves not only inspired the greats such as Frank Sinatra but fired the aspirations and tastes of a new generation; The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton among them. Williams caught them in the act of exploring and defining their careers and music – while ensuring impassioned audiences and atmospheric venues remained inseparable from the iconic history he was chronicling. From Miles Davis to Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie to Stan Getz and Sarah Vaughan, Williams’ camera witnessed genius at work, rest and play, with an honesty and clarity that few photographers could replicate. When Williams died in 2009 at the age of 84, he left nearly 100,000 prints and negatives behind – many of which have never been seen before. Jazz, the first book dedicated to the jazz photography of Ted Williams, will highlight hundreds of these unseen jazz images and will be captioned throughout by his own memories along with commentary from some of the leading jazz historians and journalists working today. Artists include Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ray Charles, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, Thelonious Monk, Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington, Count Bassie, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Mahalia Jackson, Buddy Rich, Julian “Cannonball” Adderly, Art Blakey, Benny Goodman, Charles Mingus, Quincy Jones, Sonny Rollins, Muddy Waters, Max Roach, Woody Herman and Wynton Marsalis
Diamonds tell stories that are captivating and timeless. On the one hand, they are just stones, pieces of pure carbon with optical properties that make them glitter and sparkle like stars. On the other, they are mystical entities hypnotically drawing the viewer into a time machine as it were, wherein a cinematic montage of their journey unfolds. Diamonds Across Time presents a sweeping overview of diamonds across time and space, featuring ten essays by world-renowned scholars in love the stone. Here, these authors present new discoveries; explore extraordinary collections; investigate histories, science, and trade; the nature of diamonds; legendary gems, jewelry collections, and great designers. Above all, they tell the human stories that underpin the adoration of diamonds.
Diamonds Across Time is a richly illustrated publication with high-quality images of gems and jewels, archival documents, rare drawings, and fabulous photographs. The volume places diamonds in the context of the time in which they were discovered, and on the political, social, and cultural stage on which their histories were etched. In a rapidly changing world, diamonds are eternal. They were created by nature and grew in the womb of the earth. They tell stories, and they record history. With this book, diamonds will finally have their own storytellers.
The garden of the Rubens House is a hidden gem in the heart of Antwerp. This is the place where the world-famous artist lived with his family and entourage and could relax. The garden has been reconstructed and, thanks to advice from fashion designer Dries Van Noten, provides year-round color, season after season. The design hearkens back to plant species from Rubens’ time, including columbine, marigolds and citrus plants.
This book presents the results of years of archive research that went into the reconstruction of The Rubens Garden, describes the historical context and provides an overview of the main flowers and plants and their story. With beautiful details from floral still lifes and other works of Rubens and his contemporaries, this richly illustrated book reveals the beauty of the unique garden of the Rubens House in Antwerp. In addition, it offers a glimpse of little-known historical material about this magical garden and city gardens in Antwerp in the time of Rubens.
A century and a half ago, extravagant costume balls and skating carnivals were the pinnacle of society’s entertainment, bringing forth a kaleidoscopic array of characters, most drawn from history. The opportunity to reimagine oneself as a noble hero or heroine from the past was no less than the chance of a lifetime. Participants acquired extravagant costumes and flocked to the photographer’s studio, as witnessed by the sheer abundance of mementos of these occasions in the McCord Stewart Museum’s collections.
The book accompanies the exhibition Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927 at the McCord Stewart Museum, Montreal. A lead essay presents an overall view of the fancy dress phenomenon, and the major events in Canada with their colonial underpinnings. Other essays look in turn at the commemoration of these balls in art, photography, and publications, a decolonizing perspective on the representation of Indigenous and other marginalized peoples in fancy dress, and the ephemeral nature of the extant objects.
A section consists of detailed profiles of astounding garments, with several images to show views of each that cannot be seen in the exhibition: interior construction and labels, closeup views of textiles and materials, and comparisons of archival photographs of ball guests in costume.
The book is unique amongst historical fashion publications as it is the first to be devoted to fancy dress in such detail.