Synopses & Reviews
This authoritative, accessible survey is the first since 1927 devoted entirely to ivories of the Middle Ages. Color photographs display the VandAand#8217;s significant collection, which is especially strong in Carolingian, Anglo-Saxon, and English Romanesque examples. Following an essay on the VandAand#8217;s collecting and study of these masterpieces, the book features major works from every era of the period: the Symmachi Panel from late antiquity; the front cover of the Lorsch Gospels from the Carolingian era; the Ottonian Basilewsky Situla; the Veroli Casket from 10th-century Byzantium; the St Nicholas Crozier; the enigmatic whalebone carving of the Adoration of the Magi from the Romanesque 12th century; and numerous others. Each entry provides a full physical and scholarly discussion, synthesizing the existand#173;ing literature and incorporating new research.
Praise for MEDIEVAL IVORY CARVINGS:
and#147;A summation of a lifetimeand#8217;s involvement with the study of medieval ivories and a triumph of scholarship and#150; one of the defining publications in the field.and#8221; The Art Newspaper
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and#147;The end result is the nearest thing to perfection attained in any catalogue of ivories today.and#8221;
West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture (Bard Graduate Center)
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and#147;The volume is, in sum, not simply a catalogue of ivories but a fundamental contribution to the history of medieval art.and#8221; The Burlington Magazine
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and#147;A superlative achievement, setting a high standard for all future catalogues and making an immense contribution to scholarship.and#8221; Speculum: Journal of Medieval Studies
Synopsis
This lush, three-volume slipcased set catalogues the V&As superb collection of Western illuminated manuscripts. Providing a history of an art form spanning eight centuries as an integral part of the decorative arts, it documents not only the practice of medieval and Renaissance illumination, but also the survival of medieval bookmaking crafts alongside printing in the post-Renaissance period—and their revival in the 19th century. The three volumes bring together for the first time works such as the St. Denis Missal of 1350 and the Chambord Missal of 1844, the Sanvito Petrarch of 1463-64 and William Morriss Book of Verse of 1870. Catalogue descriptions discuss each work in detail and pay particular attention to the changing ways in which they have been evaluated and used through the centuries.
Synopsis
This book celebrates Britainandrsquo;s National Art Library, the first of what was a new kind of museum library, formed in the 19th century by and for artists, designers, and artisans; and intensively used by them and later by the public. Here are more than 100 objects that have helped to define and redefine the subject and scope of the history of the fine and decorative arts, from a 15th-century book of hours to George Cruikshankandrsquo;s studies of Fagin for Oliver Twist to an Yves Saint Laurent design for the House of Dior and Bill Brandtandrsquo;s photos, Word and Image explores some of the worldandrsquo;s finest examples of books.
About the Author
?Julius Bryant is keeper of Word and Image at the VandA, responsible for the National Art Library. Rowan Watson is senior curator for the National Art Libraryandrsquo;s special collections. Elizabeth James is senior librarian for collections and documentation at the National Art Library.