Customer Reviews

Jewels of the Pharaohs;: Egyptian jewellery of the Dynastie Period;

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I have always been interested in ancient Egypt but this book focused on the jewelry, which I had only read about in general terms.

In the section about the recovery of ancient Egyptian jewelry, the author talked about how discoveries are more often made by accident than by a deliberate, planned search. Many treasures have been dispersed all over the world because of being found by private persons.

Materials were selected for their color rather than for their "refractive powers, brilliance, or rarity."

Next the author discussed the uses of jewelry in ancient Egypt. Jewelry was used for personal adornment of men as much as for women, and used in burials, for the shrines of the gods, and as temple furnishings. The most common use of jewelry was as amulets - to protect the wearers from harm.

The materials used by craftsmen to make jewelry in ancient Egypt were shells, horns, tusks, claws, stones, and gold. Some of the most popular stones were carnellian, lapis lazuli, and turquoise (very different from the veiny turquoise we see here in the U.S).

A very informative book.

Of all the books about ancient Egyptian jewelry,I found this to be the most helpful to my cause: studying the designs ancient Egyptian used and modifying them for my artwork. There are many color plates which help to illuminate the text decriptions. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. His prose is straightforward and easy to read for even a layman, such as I. I really enjoyed this book.

Since this book first arrived in 1971 no other references have surpassed this fascinating subject. Short and concise reading with descriptions of jewelry materials, techniques, tools and forms of the ancient craftsmen are wonderfully documented. The photographs alone are sufficient to let anyone appreciate the incredibe beauty of ancient Egyptian works created under some of the most primative conditions. Just when you're thinking "How did they do that?" Aldred details the answer.

The range of work is well represented showing famous masterpieces from the old kingdom Lahun cache to new kingdom pieces of TutankhamunTutankhamun and Ramesses II Ramesses II. Even though much technical information is at hand, including the rediscovery of hard colloidal soldering, Alred himself recognizes that further study is necessary. The 2006 discoverey of a unique glass formed by a comet collision with earth, found on a pectoral scarab of king Tut's, is one example worth mentioning.

This book is still the most comprehensive study to date and a valuable source of information to anyone interested in ancient Egyptian jewelry and its place in history. A terrific book!

As an update: Ancient Egyptian Jewelry by Carol Andrews (a great Egyptologist in her own right) adds little to Aldreds work technically. Though there are more color photos, (many reprints from Aldred's book! including many from her previous excellent Amulets of Ancient Egypt publication) the cover price of $125. ($75. used) hardly warrants putting this book above anything done by Aldred ~ even though other reviewers have stated so.

All of the items in this book are already in your other books on Egyptian jewelry if you are an Egyptophile and have as many as I do... or if you are not and this is your first book, you will be delighted in the photographs and awe at the magnificent craftsmanship of this fabulous culture. They have selected the all the well known pieces to show off. I was hoping to see some new items in this rather thin book but didnt. I think "Gold of the Pharaohs" is a much better choice, as it has better photographs in finer detail than this book.
In any case, for the novice, this makes a great book to appreciate Egyptian craftsmen.