Greek Gems and Finger Rings: Early Bronze to Late Classical [Hardcover]

John Boardman (Author), Robert L. Wilkins (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

The miniaturist art of gem engraving is the least familiar of the major arts of ancient Greece, yet we know it to have been practiced by the greatest artists. This book presents a comprehensive account of the art in Greek lands from the early Bronze Age down to the Hellenistic period. The gems are related to history and to the artistic achievements in other media of their day, and the subject matter of the scenes engraved upon them is examined and found to hold much that will be new to students of Greek myth and iconography. The development of the Bronze Age studios in the Minoan and Mycenaean world is discussed, and the works of the great period of Classical gem engraving are resolved into their styles and schools, with a special chapter devoted to Greek works within the Persian Empire. The attributions and discussion are supported by full notes and lists. The plates, which show the gems enlarged up to four times their natural size, present the fullest possible range of devices and styles from all periods. This revised edition will be an essential work of reference for students and scholars, as well as a thorough survey of the subject for all lovers of Greek art.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sir John Boardman is known and respected the world over as an outstanding authority on classical archaeology and art. Among his prodigious output of books - over thirty titles - are numerous works on Greek pottery and sculpture in the World of Art series. He has received numerous honours, including a knighthood in 1989 and honorary doctorates from the University of Athens and the Sorbonne.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 474 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; Expanded edition (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500237778
• ISBN-13: 978-0500237779
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,311,631 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MYSTERIUM TREMENDUM ET FASCINANS, January 20, 2010

By 

Paco Rivero "Henry" (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Greek Gems and Finger Rings: Early Bronze to Late Classical (Hardcover)

Greek Gems and Finger Rings is not a book about jewelry, merely; it's about history, archeology, art, and the origins of Western civilization. John Boardman makes a great case for why anyone interested in the ancient Greeks, and particularly their fine arts, should take a careful look at their gems and finger rings. Many if not most of the "gems" and "rings" discussed (and pictured in exquisite detail in the book) are actually seals used by the ancient Greeks (and Minoans) for various purposes: to seal and mark private personal correspondence and documents of state, to seal and identify containers and their goods in commerce. They were also used as heraldry. And yes, sometimes they were just jewelry. In Bronze Age Greece, these seals went from crude glyphs to gorgeous works of art in ivory, gold, precious stones. Some depict religious rituals and gods, scenes from mythology. Or they can depict hunting scenes with people and animals. Boardman takes you chronologically from Minoan/Mycenean to Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. He places the gems in cultural and historical context. He obviously has extensive knowledge of the prior literature on the subject, especially the archeological record and matters of provenance. Many of the gems in this book are artistic masterpieces to rival those of any Greek art. Boardman makes a case for them as miniature sculpture. To me they are more interesting than early Greek vase painting, which appears more frequently in books about ancient Greece than these seals, which are rarely shown. What particularly fascinated me was the clear differences in techniques, tastes, and styles from period to period. Comparing, say, the early Minoan and Mycenean seals to those of the Classical period yields some continuities, of course, but also much that is different, even in the way they portray the human (and also non-human) body. For example, the Minoans depicted people as wasp-waisted, with arm and leg joints very tapered, a total contrast to the Classical depictions, which are more realistic even within their idealizations. The Minoan bodies look more flexible, and their style captures a vibrant sense of animation, movement, life. The Classical gems are beautiful, but I found the Minoan gems more interesting. They are certainly more ecstatically alive. I might wonder to what extent the classical Greeks really believed in their gods, but in the case of the Minoan seals I must say they really convey a sense of pagan worship, showing rituals involving bare-chested women holding serpents, little gods materializing above altars. The Minoans and Myceneans are farther back in time than the Classical Greeks, and their art conveys that primordiality, a spirit and attitude towards existence that appear strange to us today as compared with the seals created in subsequent periods. We recognize the classical; its influence is all around us. But the Minoans seem alien, even in the way they dress. The book itself is large, sumptuous, and brimming with over a thousand detailed impressions and photographs. Well worth the price.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bargain Price on a Beautiful Book, February 25, 2006

By 

E. Thienes (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greek Gems and Finger Rings: Early Bronze to Late Classical (Hardcover)

Boardman's book is great for looking at Bronze Age, early and classical Greek Gems, but only spends a few pages on Hellenistic Gems and lumps them together with Roman, which was a bit disappointing. Other than that, a beautiful book, almost a complete corpus of gems from the noted period. Very useful.