British Museum Press Watches
20.54 GBP
Consult the complete sheet with in-depth details, compare prices and identify the features of PRODUCTNAME, available at the cost of PRICE CURRENCY; it belongs to the CATEGORY NAME category; the seller is SELLER NAME and the manufacturer is MANUFACTURER NAME.
The British Museum watch collection is unsurpassed anywhere in the world, and tells the story of the watch which spans an incredible 500 years.Within the collection are examples ranging from sixteenth-century early stackfreed watches made in south Germany to exquisite decorative watches of the seventeenth century.Everyday watches from the eighteenth century and precision-made chronometers from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are included, as are examples from the modern era.All the major makers of Europe and America will be represented, including Thomas Tompion, whose reputation stretched far and wide even in his own time, and the Swiss-born Abraham Louis Breguet, who lived and worked in Paris supplying the best that money could buy to the crown heads and aristocratic families of the western world.In contrast to the high precision of the horological giants, the Museum has a growing collection of wristwatches, including those with automatic winding systems.There are also extensive collections of pin-pallet lever watches made for the mass market during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by companies such as Waterbury and Ingersoll.The collections are brought up to the minute with the inclusion of early examples of electro-mechanical watches and the quartz revolution.
EAN: 9780714151106
Shipping Costs: 3.99 GBP
Availability: in stock
Delivery Times: 2 - 4 working days
Condition: new
The British Museum watch collection is unsurpassed anywhere in the world, and tells the story of the watch which spans an incredible 500 years.Within the collection are examples ranging from sixteenth-century early stackfreed watches made in south Germany to exquisite decorative watches of the seventeenth century.Everyday watches from the eighteenth century and precision-made chronometers from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are included, as are examples from the modern era.All the major makers of Europe and America will be represented, including Thomas Tompion, whose reputation stretched far and wide even in his own time, and the Swiss-born Abraham Louis Breguet, who lived and worked in Paris supplying the best that money could buy to the crown heads and aristocratic families of the western world.In contrast to the high precision of the horological giants, the Museum has a growing collection of wristwatches, including those with automatic winding systems.There are also extensive collections of pin-pallet lever watches made for the mass market during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by companies such as Waterbury and Ingersoll.The collections are brought up to the minute with the inclusion of early examples of electro-mechanical watches and the quartz revolution.
EAN: 9780714151106
Shipping Costs: 3.99 GBP
Availability: in stock
Delivery Times: 2 - 4 working days
Condition: new
Comparison of similar products
British Museum Press How To Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs : A Step-By-Step Guide To Teach Yourself
17.78 GBP
Have you ever wished that you could read the beautiful hieroglyphic script of ancient Egypt for yourself?Now you can, with the help of this practical step-by-step guide.It is suitable for complete beginners, or for anyone who would like to improve their knowledge of the language and culture of ancient Egypt. Mark Collier and Bill Manley have many years of experience teaching non-specialists at courses around the UK, so their approach is tried and tested.From the very beginning you will be introduced to genuine texts from ancient monuments.Each chapter introduces a new aspect of the ancient Egyptian language's hieroglyphic script and encourages you to develop your growing reading skills with practical exercises. The authors concentrate on a fascinating and rewarding group of monuments – funerary inscriptions, coffins and tomb scenes.The texts and supporting notes offer a first-hand insight into topics such as the pharaonic administration, family life in ancient Egypt, and ancient Egyptian approaches to death and the afterlife.With this book as your guide, you will be able to read with confidence the monuments reproduced in this book, and Egyptian monuments on display around the world.
British Museum Press Chronicles Of The Vikings : Records, Memorials And Myths
15.94 GBP
There have been many books about the Vikings, but few that see them from their own point of view.Most accounts rely heavily on the records of prejudiced observers (who saw the Vikings only as savage raiders) or the archaeological record, which tells us much about their material culture but little about their values.This classic book reveals how the Vikings saw themselves: portrayed in their own writings or in the reports of people who knew them closely.Using a series of translations from primary sources including runic inscriptions, literary works, rare historical accounts and eye-witness reports, this book brings the Viking world to life.
British Museum Press Birds
13.18 GBP
The British Museum’s vast collections include wonderful images of birds from all over the world.Some are primarily decorative, whereas Thomas Bewick and the Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro chose to show birds in realistic detail, going about their daily lives.Other artists concentrate on scientific accuracy. The endless variety of birds, their freedom of sky, land and water, and especially their song have also inspired writers through the ages.Each striking image in this beautiful anthology is matched with a poem about the same species.Some were composed by our best-loved writers – including Shakespeare, Chaucer and Tennyson – and others have been selected from less familiar or even anonymous voices around the world.Now in a fresh new paperback format, this is an irresistible gift for anyone who loves birds.
British Museum Press Hew Locke : What Have We Here?
27.6 GBP
‘A remarkable book… a precious album or scrapbook of ideas, insights and specially chosen images of objects that have a multitude of stories to tell.’ – Art Africa magazine ‘What have we here? presents us with the overlooked and excluded segments of British legacy, utilising the power of art to question what we already know, and what there is yet to learn.’ – Palatinate Together with his own artworks, contemporary artist Hew Locke uses the British Museum’s collection as a springboard to explore themes of colonialism and cultural interactions. Hew Locke is interested in dissecting the messy and complex ways in which museums are implicated in histories of empire. ‘This project has enabled me to engage with the museum’s collections in a much deeper way than ever before, and in a way few artists have had the privilege of doing.I have always been interested in the way objects are interpreted through display in museums.What story has been distilled and is being told or implied about the past?How does it relate to the present? How can this telling be questioned, disrupted, or complicated?’ The British Museum’s history and collections are closely linked to those of the British Empire, which this book addresses alongside a consideration of today’s often contentious and deeply felt debates around cultural heritage.Focusing on Britain’s historic interactions with Africa, India and the Caribbean from around 1600 onwards, all of which had an impact on Guyana (where Locke grew up), Locke creates a personal exploration of the subject, weaving in his own works such as the Souvenir series and a new commission titled The Watchers.Using interventionist techniques to reframe the collection’s historical objects, the artist hopes to leave readers with more questions than answers.
British Museum Press The Parthenon Sculptures In The British Museum
26.99 GBP
The Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum are unrivalled examples of classical Greek art that have inspired sculptors, artists, poets and writers since their creation in the fifth century BC.This book serves as a superb visual introduction to these magnificent sculptures.The book showcases a series of specially taken photographs of the different sculptural elements: the pediments, metopes and Ionic frieze.It captures the vitality of the sculptures in a group, an individual sculpture or an exquisite eye-catching detail, such as the mane of a horse, a human foot, the swish of drapery or a youthful head bowed in thought.
British Museum Press Hokusai : The Great Picture Book Of Everything
26.99 GBP
Shortlisted for Exhibition Catalogue of the Year in the British Book Design and Production Awards 2022. ---------- 'Hokusai: The Great Picture Book of Everything... is both an important contribution to the existing scientific knowledge of the work of this outstanding Japanese artist and an important illustrative source for researchers representing such fields as art history, sinology, Japanese studies, Korean studies, cultural anthropology and cognitive anthropology.For a reader who is not professionally connected with any of the scientific disciplines, Hokusai's mastery of drawing may prove to be an inspiration to broaden their knowledge in the field of history of art and history of culture.' – Ethos, quarterly magazine ---------- A landmark publication of a major new discovery of over 100 drawings by foremost Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.Acquired by the British Museum in 2020, these previously unpublished drawings had been forgotten for over 70 years. Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) is considered by many to be Japan’s greatest artist.During his seventy-year career, he produced a considerable oeuvre of some 3,000 colour prints, illustrations for over 200 books, hundreds of drawings and over 1,000 paintings.These 103 exciting and exquisite small drawings were made for an unpublished book called Great Picture Book of Everything – featuring wide-ranging subjects from depictions of religious, mythological, historical and literary figures to animals, birds, flowers and other natural phenomena, as well as landscapes.They are dominated by subjects that relate to ancient China and India, and also Southeast and Central Asia.Many subjects found in the collection are not found in previous Hokusai works, including fascinating imaginings of the origin of human culture in ancient China. This beautifully produced book draws on the latest research, illustrating the complete set of drawings, published for the first time.
British Museum Press The British Museum Guide : (English)
9.51 GBP
This practical guide is split into seven main sections, each covering a key geographical area or historical period: Africa, the Americas, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. An introduction to the collections in each of these areas is followed by a curated selection of key objects, arranged by room number to help orientate your visit. Following this are seven themed galleries: Enlightenment, Collecting the World, the Waddesdon Bequest, Living and Dying, Clocks and Watches, Money, and Prints and Drawings.Fully illustrated in colour, there is a complete map of the Museum at the front of the guide, which gives detailed directions. This is a perfect companion for visitors who want to savour the highlights of the collection.
British Museum Press The Rosetta Stone
9.51 GBP
The Rosetta Stone contains a decree written three times in Greek, Demotic and hieroglyphic that provided the key to the mysterious hieroglyphic script of ancient Egypt, and opened up 3,000 years of the country's history and culture.This book tells the fascinating story of one of archaeology's icons, from its creation in the second century BC, to its discovery in 1799 during Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, to the subsequent race to decipher its hieroglyphic text.Undertaken by two brilliant scholars - the Frenchman Jean-Francois Champollion, and the English physicist Thomas Young - it was the former who eventually succeeded in making the crucial breakthrough.Today the Rosetta Stone stands in the Museum as an enduring symbol of human understanding and communication through the ages.
British Museum Press The Vikings In Britain And Ireland
15.94 GBP
For nearly three hundred years, the Vikings set out on voyages from Scandinavia reaching every corner of the northern world.As raiders, traders, explorers and colonizers, they had a profound impact on those cultures with which they came into contact.The archaeological evidence of their settlements, burials and hoards, as well as the literature of their later sagas reveal a complex and fascinating culture. The Vikings represent a dramatic time in the history of northern Europe and their legacy forms an important part of the cultural heritage of Britain and Ireland.This book explores Viking raids, conquest and settlement across these islands from the end of the eighth century to the raids of Magnus Barelegs, king of Norway, around 1100, examining their impact, their towns and society, language, trading activities and beliefs. Written by three authors specializing in a range of disciplines, and drawing on the superb collection of the British Museum, together with finds, sites and monuments, The Vikings in Britain and Ireland is a well-illustrated introduction to the culture, daily life and times of the Vikings, and their legacy which is still visible today.
British Museum Press Chinese Ceramics : Highlights Of The Sir Percival David Collection
17.78 GBP
Sir Percival David made one of the finest collections of Chinese ceramics outside Asia.It includes many items of imperial quality, with beautiful examples of extremely rare Ru and guan wares as well as the famous David vases.Their inscriptions date to 1351, making them an internationally acknowledged yardstick for the dating of Chinese blue and white porcelain.Here are 50 selected highlights, all illustrated with colour photographs taken especially for this publication.The accompanying text provides details and draws out the important features of each piece.The range and scope of the collection provide the material for a stunning overview and accessible introduction to Chinese ceramic art.
British Museum Press Nero : The Man Behind The Myth
36.8 GBP
One of the best known figures from Roman history, Nero (r.AD 54–68) is most often characterised as a tyrannical and ineffectual ruler, who fiddled while Rome burnt.Such a reputation has, however, been shaped by ancient literary sources written by his adversaries and enemies and, in light of new research, can be considered crudely reductive.This publication, and the exhibition it accompanies, redresses the balance and provides a more nuanced interpretation of Nero’s reign and Roman society of the time, reflecting on the traditional perceptions of his rule and revealing the challenges with which the young heir to Claudius’ empire had to contend. The period during which Nero ruled over Roman society was one of profound change.The extent of the empire at the time was vast, having grown significantly during the previous century through conquest and annexation, and peace and prosperity followed years of bloody war.The role of Nero’s mother Agrippina in his accession to the throne is well-documented, but her expectations of great influence once Nero was in post were not met and the role of women, and family more widely, is considered in detail in this book. In addition to familial conflict, Nero also had to confront the threat of rival powers and the assimilation of newly conquered territories, which provided him with the opportunity to prove himself as a strong military leader.Alongside military campaigns, he adopted ‘populist’ policies, was preoccupied with the beautification of the heart of his empire, which was subsequently devastated by fire, and enthusiastically engaged in theatre and entertainment. Nero’s rule was curtailed by military rebellion in AD 68 and the embattled emperor ultimately committed suicide.His death brought to an end the reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, and the subsequent vilification of his memory and the removal and desecration of his image are an enduring, but misleading, legacy.
British Museum Press Haiku
13.18 GBP
Japanese Haiku has been a much-loved form of poetry for many centuries.Composed of 17 syllables, it can convey the essence of an emotion, a fleeting moment in nature, or a throwaway comment. This collection features 60 classic haiku by masters such as Basho, Kyoshi and Shiki, arranged by season and covering all the most popular subjects.The text features an introduction explaining the background to Japanese haiku and a short biographical note about each of the major poets. An excellent introduction to the treasures of Japanese poetry and art.
British Museum Press Feminine Power : The Divine To The Demonic
27.6 GBP
An exciting, wide-ranging exploration of the power and diversity of female figures of worship in world cultures and belief systems, from the ancient world to today. ---------- ‘Written in plain and accessible language, without losing academic rigor...Crerar, who, like a contemporary Virgil, introduces us to sublime and terrifying entities, guiding us all the way through the complex and fascinating meanings of femininity and faith.’ – María Pinal Villanueva, The Journal of Folklore Research Reviews ‘An excellent catalogue’ – Waldemar Januszczak, The Sunday Times ‘A lucidly argued and richly illustrated catalogue’ – Marina Warner, The Guardian ---------- Divine women – in many guises – have featured in every world faith from deep history until the present day, inspiring people and cultures across the world.In a cross-cultural and global approach, this book discusses Eve alongside Inanna, Radha and Aphrodite in the context of sex and desire, while in the chapter on evil, witches and Hecate are compared with other deities, like Lamaštu and the Cihuateotl, as well as monstrous women such as Taraka, Medusa, Rangda, and Lilith.Ideas of justice and defence are explored in the figures of Athena, Sekhmet and Kali, and the final chapter on compassion and salvation uncovers links between Isis, Mary, Tara and Guanyin.The publication concludes with a discussion of contemporary feminism and modern interpretations of goddesses.Until the mid-twentieth century, the disciplines of theology, archaeology and history were heavily dominated by male academics, resulting in the under-representation of women’s experience and fewer studies on female divinity.This timely book, which is packed with fascinating insights into different cultures and beliefs, seeks to redress that balance.
British Museum Press Objects As Insights : R.H. Codrington'S Ethnographic Collections From Melanesia
26.99 GBP
Robert Codrington (1830-1922) trained to be a priest at Oxford University.He volunteered to work in Nelson, New Zealand, from 1860-4 and was appointed as headmaster of the Melanesian Mission training school on Norfolk Island in 1867.He spent the next twenty years in this post and for eight of these he was the head of the Mission travelling through the Melanesian region.Throughout his time in the region he attempted to gain an ethnographic understanding of the people whom he was serving.To this end he studied local languages and translated scriptures into Mota, the lingua franca of the Mission.However, for Codrington material artefacts were fundamental to his understanding of Melanesian life.He took a lively interest in material culture as a collector and donated objects to a number of museums, including the British Museum and The Pitt Rivers Museum.His specialist knowledge made him a valued informant for scholars of Melanesia who regularly consulted him.He is regarded today as one of the founding scholars of Pacific anthropology. This book intends to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how Codrington formed his collection, through the study of his written anthropological works, correspondence with other collectors and scholars and particularly through the private correspondence with his brother and his five journals written between 1867 and 1882.The book also highlights his equally important contribution to the development of material culture studies in the region and how his work has influenced Melanesian studies to the present day.
British Museum Press Greek Inscriptions
15.94 GBP
An accessible introduction that reveals the importance of Greek inscriptions in the understanding of ancient Greek culture.Inscriptions are an important form of evidence for our interpretation of past human societies.They are outstanding sources as they offer direct snapshots into the behaviour of humans and their aspiration to make a permanent and public record of themselves.Greek inscriptions in particular combine word and image in a multitude of ways, meaning they are rich in terms of the insights they offer into the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean and the mindsets of their peoples.They give us views of inter-state relations, historical narratives, the political administration of city-states and honorific culture; and at the same time offer perspectives on the significance of ideas about democracy, citizenship, gender, ethnicity, religion and the supernatural. This book, based on the collection of ancient Greek inscriptions on stone and metal held at the British Museum, constitutes an introduction to the study of ancient Greek inscriptions, their significance for our understanding of ancient Greek culture, their history and their reception in the modern world.It places emphasis on the texts of the inscriptions, their physical form, their importance in understanding the ancient Greek language and the modern history of their collection.
British Museum Press The Medieval Cookbook
17.78 GBP
Drawing on the cuisine of the Middle Ages, from the fall of the Roman Empire to Henry VIII's break with Rome, this new treatment of a classic book explores the relationship between food, religion and the ever-widening gap between the tables of the rich and the poor.Featured is an appetizing collection of recipes inspired by medieval manuscripts, richly illustrated throughout with stunning scenes of food, feasting and cooking from paintings, tapestries and drawings.The Medieval Cookbook has been thoughtfully adapted for the modern kitchen, whilst retaining the true essence of dining in medieval Britain.
British Museum Press The Cat In Ancient Egypt
14.1 GBP
An informative guide to the relationship between humans and cats in the ancient Egyptian world. Cats can be seen in ancient Egyptian homes, temples and adorning the heads of their gods.Cats in Egypt were probably domesticated by around 4,000 BC from wild ancestors.Over the following centuries, they became popular household pets.In this book, Dr Malek draws on a vast range of artistic and written sources to show how cats became one of the most widely esteemed and revered animals in Egypt. An ideal gift for any fan of ancient Egyptian culture.
British Museum Press Netsuke : 100 Miniature Masterpieces From Japan
17.78 GBP
Netsuke have once again come to the fore in the popular imagination of the public.In part this is due to the phenomenal success of Edmund De Waal’s 2010 book, Hare with the Amber Eyes, which highlights a treasured netsuke collection that was challenged by war and the vicissitudes of time.Intricately carved from various materials including ivory, wood and metal, these small toggles served a practical purpose in Japan: a netsuke was used to fasten a man’s sash, an integral part of Japanese costume.Up until the seventeenth century netsuke were relatively insignificant objects that were rarely of artistic interest, but as time passed they evolved in terms of both materials and workmanship, and were then used by men to flaunt their wealth or as an expression of status.Today netsuke are considered an art form in their own right and are prized by collectors around the world.They are found in a variety of forms and depict a wide range of subjects – including figures of human and legendary form, ghosts, animals, botanical subjects and masks.Skilfully worked, these miniature carvings are of great artistic value, but they also provide a window into Japanese culture and society.This book brings together one hundred of the most beautiful and interesting netsuke from the extensive collection of the British Museum, each of which has its own special charm and story to tell.Uncovering the stories behind these netsuke and coupling them with stunning new photography, this book reveals why these tiny objects have captivated so many, the meaning they have held for those who wore them, and what they can tell us about Japanese everyday life.
British Museum Press Kushan Coins And History : A Type Of Catalogue Of Kushan, Kushano-Sasasian And Kidarite Hun Coins Based On The Collection Of The British Museum (Two Volumes)
55.2 GBP
The coinage of the Kushan kings (1st to 4th centuries) and of their immediate successors the Sasanian Kushanshahs (3rd-4th centuries) and the Kidarite Hun Kushanshahs (4th-5th centuries) are a key component of our understanding of the history of ancient Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan during the early centuries AD.Modern knowledge of each of these kingdoms began with the discovery of their coins.Research continues to reveal new aspects of the political structure of these states, their geographical extent, the religious affinities of their rulers and the development of scripts and languages in the region. This landmark publication will give a comprehensive account of Kushan, Kushano-Sasanian and Kidarite Hun coinages, as well as put them into a wider historical and cultural context.
British Museum Press Late Hokusai : Society, Thought, Technique, Legacy
36.8 GBP
This publication has been developed from ideas first presented at the international symposium Late Hokusai: thought, technique, society, held at the British Museum in May 2017.The symposium was organised to enable specialists in a range of disciplines relating to early modern Japan to view and consider the critically acclaimed exhibition Hokusai: beyond the Great Wave, then being presented at the British Museum.The exhibition brought together representative works by the artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) in the various media in which he worked – colour woodblock printed, woodblock-printed illustrated books, brush paintings on paper or silk, and brush drawings - that were produced between the age of 61 and his death aged 90.Building on the themes of the exhibition, authors from the UK, Europe, Japan and USA have engaged with late Hokusai from a variety of perspectives, both intrinsic and extrinsic to his life and works.Essays have been grouped within the broad categories of ‘thought’ -- Hokusai’s intellectual concerns and the ways his art brought these to life; ‘technique’ – how the artist pursued excellence in a wide range of media, within a commercialised art market; and ‘society’ – dimensions of cultural interaction and patronage.A fourth section on ‘legacy’ looks at how stories of Hokusai have been as much generated by 130 years of scholarship, as they have by his works themselves.Challengingly, faked paintings and printed works have both contaminated and supported those stories.This innovative approach provides new insights into the work of one of the world’s most celebrated artists and suggests many new avenues for Hokusai research.
British Museum Press Gesture And Line : Four Post-War German And Austrian Artists From The Duerckheim Collection
26.99 GBP
From the 1960s drawing assumed a prominent position in the practice of a rising generation of post-war artists in Germany and Austria.This publication examines works on paper by four artists still comparatively little known in the UK.While Georg Baselitz and Gerhard Richter, household names in German contemporary art, are well known for their large and commanding works, a quieter and more reflective strand is found in the work of Rudi Tröger (b. 1929), Karl Bohrmann (1928–1998) and Carl-Heinz Wegert (1926–2007).Small and intimate in scale, their drawings focus on the abstracted, minimalist figure, the studio interior and landscapes, through a sensitive use of line and a spare, self-effacing gesturalism.By contrast, the Austrian actionist Hermann Nitsch (1938–2022) presents visceral depictions of the human anatomy in his large lithographs, which come out of his notorious actionist performances.This publication celebrates a second major gift to the British Museum from the German collector Count Christian Duerckheim, whose first gift featured in Germany Divided: Baselitz and his generation, published by the British Museum Press in 2014.
British Museum Press Pharaoh: Art And Power In Ancient Egypt
27.6 GBP
‘A comprehensive but accessible introduction for anyone interested in the history of ancient Egypt, and offers a showcase of highlights from the British Museum’s world-class collection.’ – Ancient Egypt Magazine Explores the ideals, symbolism and ideology of Egyptian kingship and uncovers the stories behind the objects and images left as a legacy by this ancient civilisation. The rulers of ancient Egypt were not always male, nor always Egyptian.At times, Egypt was divided by civil war, conquered by foreign powers or ruled by competing kings.While some kings were revered – such as Thutmose III who expanded Egypt’s empire to its largest extent – the memory of others was officially erased.Many of the objects surviving from ancient Egypt project the image the pharaoh wanted us to see – however this book explores the reality and the many challenges of ruling one of the greatest civilisations the world has ever seen. After an introduction into the historic and geographic timeframe of the ancient Pharaohs, the book explores royal iconography, decoding the insignia worn and held by the king, or the names and titles covering most royal monuments.The core of the book investigates the main roles of the king, as high priest, as the head of the royal family, as the administrative ruler of the country and as the leader of the army and diplomat.Following an investigation into the preparation for the king’s eternal life, from the rituals to the building of a tomb, the book closes on a contemporary perspective from Egypt and how the notion of the Pharaoh still resonates today. The book covers 3,000 years of history – highlighting research on key pieces from the British Museum’s outstanding collection of Egyptian antiquities.
British Museum Press The Print Before Photography : An Introduction To European Printmaking 1550 - 1820
55.2 GBP
Winner of the 2017 IFPDA Book Award, honouring excellence in research, scholarship, and the discussion of new ideas in the field of fine prints. Copper-plate printmaking, developed alongside Gutenberg’s invention of moveable type, was a huge business employing thousands of people, and dominating image production for nearly four centuries across the whole of Europe.Its techniques and influence remained very stable until the nineteenth century, when this world was displaced by new technologies, of which photography was by far the most important.Print Before Photography examines the unrivalled importance of printmaking in its golden age, illustrated through the British Museum’s outstanding collection of prints.This unique and significant book is destined to be a leading reference in print scholarship, and will be of interest to anyone with an interest in this era of art history.
British Museum Press The Bible In The British Museum : Interpreting The Evidence
15.94 GBP
The links between archaeology and the Bible have fascinated generations of archaeologists and biblical scholars who seek documentation of events narrated in the Bible.The British Museum's collections include numerous inscribed objects, scripts and pictorial reliefs which provide such evidence.There is, for example, a Babylonian clay tablet which records Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem in 597 BC, as narrated in the book of Jeremiah.For this book the author has selected over seventy such 'documents', mainly from Western Asia, with some examples included from Greece, Egypt and Asia Minor, dating from the period of the Patriarchs to the New Testament times, c. 2000 BC to c. AD 100. He transliterates and translates the ancient texts, which include Cuneiform, Aramaic and Hebrew, and discusses the contribution they make to our knowledge of the culture and history of biblical times.Each object is illustrated in black and white.
University of British Columbia Press Cataloguing Culture : Legacies Of Colonialism In Museum Documentation
27.59 GBP
How does material culture become data? Why does this matter, and for whom? As the cultures of Indigenous peoples in North America were mined for scientific knowledge, years of organizing, classifying, and cataloguing hardened into accepted categories, naming conventions, and tribal affiliations – much of it wrong.Cataloguing Culture examines how colonialism operates in museum bureaucracies.Using the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History as her reference, Hannah Turner organizes her study by the technologies framing museum work over two hundred years: field records, the ledger, the card catalogue, the punch card, and eventually the database.She examines how categories were applied to ethnographic material culture and became routine throughout federal collecting institutions. As Indigenous communities encounter the documentary traces of imperialism while attempting to reclaim what is theirs, this timely work shines a light on access to and return of cultural heritage.
British Museum Press Thomas Bewick : Graphic Worlds
13.18 GBP
Thomas Bewick (1753–1828) was the foremost wood engraver not only of his generation, but of all subsequent generations, and the quality of his work has remained unsurpassed.His extraordinary woodcuts of animals and birds made him famous, and he dramatically influenced the development of the illustrated book in both England and America.Yet Bewick was no isolated creative genius toiling in an artist’s atelier, but a trade engraver in the heart of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, working at the very moment when the Industrial Revolution was beginning to change the world.His was an exceptional artistic talent, yet his trade engraving shop was tasked with similar commissions to those offered to hundreds of other similar businesses the length and breadth of the kingdom, catering for their local customers.Bewick’s own talent, however, meant that he approached the trade commissions with his own particular flair and originality, creating many commercial works that are very little known.The British Museum holds an unrivalled collection of Bewick’s works, including those from his commercial ventures, and this book celebrates the skill of the artist by presenting sixty engravings, some never published before, and by offering a historical perspective.Bewick made important – but even today often unrealised – contributions to the development of what we would today call graphic design.From the Victorian times onwards, his work was often separated from his commercial world and he was regarded as an artist-naturalist rather than the artist-craftsman he actually was.This book takes an original approach by addressing this balance for the first time, and places Bewick at the centre of English commercial life in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
British Museum Press Munch And His World : Graphic Arts And The Avant-Garde In Paris And Berlin
27.6 GBP
‘The conference volume _Munch and his World_ offers an excellent overview of Munch's multifaceted print and photographic techniques within the context of his contemporaries, which makes it particular valuable.This extremely readable book is aimed both at a specialist audience and interested non-professionals and, through its selected image comparisons and high-quality illustrations, conveys a vivid impression of Munch's prints within avant-garde art in Berlin and Paris.’ – _Print Quarterly_ The art of Edvard Munch is striking for the originality and universality of its themes, which cross moments in place and time.Yet he was very much an artist of the nineteenth century, and the focus of this publication is to show how especially in his prints and photographs Munch was enabled by technical advances developed by his contemporaries to create an entirely new visual language.Munch is probably best known for his desire to express emotions surrounding love, illness and death.However, the authors in this volume show that this preoccupation was not only based on biographical events but reflects wider contemporary debates on developments in medicine and science, including treatment of mental illness, as well as a proliferation of technical expertise in the production of prints. The arguments presented expand on subjects touched upon in the critically acclaimed British Museum exhibition Edvard Munch: love and angst (2019).Munch's remarkable prints were fundamental to establishing his international career, but there remains much to investigate in connection with the background to his innovatory techniques, his relationship with contemporary printmakers and his experiments with photography.The authors in this volume go some way to address these themes and outline future avenues of research.
Charco Press Explorers Dreamers And Thieves : Latin American Writers In The British Museum
15.02 GBP
Explorers, Dreamers and Thieves is an adventure through memory and archives. This book is an exercise in invention that emerges from the complex history of encounter between Europe and the Americas.Following the success of Untold Microcosms – which saw ten Latin American authors write stories inspired by objects from their countries held by the British Museum – the curatorial team at the Museum and at Hay Festival have joined forces again, this time with a slightly different proposal.Six writers – Selva Almada ,Rita Indiana ,Josefa Sánchez ,Philippe Sands ,Juan Gabriel Vásquez andGabriela Weiner – were invited to examine a series of ethnographic documents: a profusion of diaries, letters, drawings, thoughts and transactions, all referring to the acquisition of works for the collection.Using this material as a starting point, they were asked to imagine narratives about the people involved in bringing those pieces to the museum.The journey through these texts is not unlike the one that, in years past, was undertaken by the explorers, dreamers and thieves who serve as an inspiration for this book. Translated by Anne McLean, Robin Myers, Carolina Orloff, Fionn Petch & Frances Riddle.
British Museum Press Beyond El Dorado : Power And Gold In Ancient Colombia
22.38 GBP
In ancient Colombia, people did not use gold as currency or desire it for its economic value.Gold was revered instead for its symbolic association and transformative properties.This sacred metal was used to create some of the most visually dramatic and technically sophisticated works of art found anywhere in the Americas before European contact.Drawing on the spectacular collections of the Museum del Oro in Bogota and the British Museum, this beautiful book features over 100 masterpieces fashioned exquisitely in gold and its alloy tumbaga, including small votive figures, decorative nose rings and earrings, vessels, pectorals and masks.These are presented alongside an array of other highly valued objects – textiles, ceramic figurines, shells, colourful stone beads – which also played a significant part in daily and ritual contexts.Focusing on the artistic production of six of the many chiefdoms that populated pre-Hispanic Colombia, the author explores the fascinating truth behind the myth and ritual of El Dorado (the gilded one), the use of gold objects by spiritual leaders in their dangerous mystical ‘soul journey’; the role played by gold in the public expression of identity and rank by chiefs and community spiritual leaders; and the importance of gold in accompanying the deceased on the final journey to the afterlife.Beyond El Dorado: power and gold in ancient Colombia was published to complement a major exhibition at the British Museum from October 2013 to March 2014.
British Museum Press Japanese Art : Close-Up
15.94 GBP
Beautifully illustrated with an array of Japanese art, this book offers a closer look at the rich variety of styles, decoration, motifs and patterns – and the sheer craftsmanship – of Japanese culture.Opening with an introduction that asks ‘What is Japanese art?’, this book presents a selection of striking and fascinating art from Japan, organised into a series of thematic chapters in which the author provides cultural context while pointing out exceptional features.By showing the complete artwork alongside enlarged details – sometimes virtually invisible to the naked eye – intriguing comparisons can be drawn between seemingly unrelated pieces.The selection of illustrations evokes the hand and eye of the most accomplished Japanese craftsmen and women past and present.Offering a superb insight into a wide array of Japanese art, the book highlights – close up and in colour – outstanding examples of design and craft in prints, paintings and screens, metalwork, ceramics, wood, stone and lacquer and will provide endless creative inspiration.
British Museum Press Persian Love Poetry
13.18 GBP
A reissue of this popular title with a fresh new paperback format, this collection of beautiful Persian love poetry is richly illustrated with images from the British Museum’ s world-famous collection.Love is everywhere in Persian poetry and can be interpreted in various ways: as mystic love, the basis of the relationship between humans and God; as passionate or affectionate love between lovers, husbands and wives, parents and children, family and friends; even as patriotic love for Iran.The literary style and indeed the Persian language itself are floral and elaborate, but the themes differ little from our preoccupations with love and romance today.With a brief introduction to the Persian poetic tradition and a short biographical note about each of the major poets, this beautiful anthology is the perfect way to discover the treasures of Persian literature and art.
British Museum Press Grayson Perry: The Tomb Of The Unknown Craftsman
26.99 GBP
'The Tomb of an Unknown Craftsman is of a treasure hoard from a distinct civilisation.The difference is that it is a civilisation of one. The territory it springs from is my imagination. ... The relationship between my personal themes and obsessions and the vastness of world culture as represented in the British Museum is like a narrow pilgrimage trail across an infinite plain.’ - Grayson Perry Grayson Perry’s centrepiece to this fascinating journey is a major artwork: a metal tomb in the form of a ship, encrusted with reliefs and artistic cargo based on, or actually cast from, objects in the collection of the British Museum.The occupant sails into the afterlife surrounded by the talismans of many faiths and peoples.This is a memorial to all the anonymous craftsmen that over the centuries have fashioned the man-made wonders of the world, many of which are on display in the Museum.Around the tomb, the other artworks - ceramics, tiles, cast metal sculpture, textiles and prints - are laid out in ritualistic symmetry as if they once belonged somewhere else.Alongside his own works, Grayson Perry presents a personal selection of objects from the British Museum that are the inspiration for his pieces or connected strongly with them thematically or aesthetically.Including an introduction by Grayson Perry and lavishly illustrated, this book takes us to the fantasy world of a contemporary artist who never fails to challenge and unsettle his audience.
British Museum Press The Lewis Chessmen
9.51 GBP
This lively book considers the various fascinating stories which have evolved to explain the ownership, concealment and discovery of the pieces whilst also placing them in the wider context of the ancient game of chess and secular art of the middle Ages. The Lewis Chessmen consist of elaborately worked walrus ivory and whales’ teeth in the forms of seated kings and queens, mitred bishops, knights on their mounts, standing warders and pawns in the shape of obelisks.They were found in the vicinity of Uig on the Isle of Lewis, but were probably made in Norway, in around 1150-1200 AD.At this time, the Western Isles where the Chessmen were buried were part of the kingdom of Norway, and not Scotland as they are today. Although very few details of the origins of the Chessmen are known, it is possible that they belonged to a merchant travelling from Norway and that they were buried for safekeeping on route to be traded in Ireland.This seems likely as there are enough pieces, though with some elements missing, to make four sets. No exact account of the discovery remains, but they apparently came to light after the collapse of a sand-bank on the coast of the island revealed their hiding place to a passing islander.All that is certain is that they were found some time before 11th April 1831 when they were exhibited at the Society of the Antiquaries in Scotland. Of the original 93 pieces discovered on the Isle of Lewis, 82 pieces are now housed in the British Museum. An exciting read for anyone interested in the history of the famous chess pieces.
British Museum Press Picasso : Printmaker
27.6 GBP
Picasso was one of the most creative and experimental talents ever to explore the medium of print.This book charts his career as a printmaker, which was characterised by close collaboration with skilled printers, through which extraordinary artworks were produced. Picasso was one of the most creative and experimental talents ever to explore the medium of print.This book charts his career as a printmaker, which was characterised by close collaboration with skilled printers, through which extraordinary artworks were produced. Together with a stunning selection of works on paper by Picasso, it also includes sculptures, drawings and prints by other artists and cultures of the kind that inspired Picasso.His prints often demonstrate his keen sense of belonging to an artistic lineage stretching back to antiquity (stemming from his kinship with the Mediterranean world of his birthplace, Málaga), as well as great artists of the past such as Raphael, Rembrandt and Ingres.One section explores the contradictions and controversies relating to Picasso’s relationships with his wives and lovers.The focus on Picasso as a printmaker will argue for the importance of this activity in his long artistic career, and his continued relevance as one of the most creative and experimental talents ever to explore the medium of print.