From Library Journal
What do you get if you combine the Greek gold treasures of the Hermitage, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art? A blockbuster exhibit of about 200 glittering gold artifacts gathered from Greece, the Crimea, Asia Minor, and most of the Greek colonies of the Mediterranean. In the manner of all good exhibit catalogs, this book has a long introduction giving extensive information on the materials, techniques, craftsmen, functions, forms, iconography, and aesthetics of Greek jewelry. Williams and Ogden provide clear, informative insights into the gold, but their prose has none of the fire of the jewelry they discuss. A good choice for large collections on jewelry, ancient art, or Greece.
Mary Morgan Smith, Northland P.L., Pittsburgh
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Mary Morgan Smith, Northland P.L., Pittsburgh
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Three world-class museums--the British Museum, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, and St. Petersburg's State Hermitage--have opened their coffers to showcase close to 200 pieces of ancient jewelry. Samples have been plucked not only from Greece but also from what is now known as Egypt, Cyprus, Sicily, and southern Italy. The authors' scholarship is unobtrusive; in fact, the text provides relatively easy reading for those charmed by objets d'art as well as curators and professional jewelers. Each item is well researched; included are its provenance, approximate date of manufacture, dimensions, a lengthy description, current and original owners, and a bibliography. The color photography is exquisite, resulting in details so fine that readers sense they could almost touch the precious metals. Barbara Jacobs
