Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization [Hardcover]

Judith Price (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2008

From the president of the National Jewelry Institute comes the largest collection of the oldest jeweled objects ever assembled. With sparkling photography and history throughout, the book will be supported by a major exhibit of the collection. These gorgeous artifacts—the oldest jeweled armor, weapons, jewelry, household objects, and more, with informative captions and stunning photography on every page—originated in Mesopotamia, Persia, Levant, the Byzantine Empire, and the Islamic world, from 4000 B.C.E. through 700 C.E. Artifacts appearing in the book are being lent to the exhibit by almost every major permanent collection of ancient objects in the world: jeweled treasures from the Louvre, the Berlin Museum, the Islamic collection at the Metropolitan, the Princeton Museum, and the Israeli Museum are shown together for the first time. Also included are interviews with major scholars and curators from around the world, speaking on ancient civilizations and the remaining artifacts that reveal their truly stunning cultures.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sacramento Book Review," September 2008
"A spectacular survey of jeweled objects from early civilization through about 1500 C.D. ... "Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry "is a fine collection of, not only the objects, but a comprehensive collection of essays and interviews with jewelry historians around the world, providing a reference to the times and places that the jewelry was made and used."

About the Author

Judith Price is the president of the National Jewelry Institute, a highly regarded non-profit organization established to create and support exhibitions of the most important jewelry of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. She is the founder of Avenue magazine and the author of Executive Style, Masterpieces of American Jewelry, and Masterpieces of French Jewelry. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (September 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762433868
• ISBN-13: 978-0762433865
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 11 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #410,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JUDITH PRICE

Ms. Price graduated with honors, from the University of Pennsylvania. After attending the graduate Faculty of Economics at Columbia University and a term at the National Bureau of Economic Research, she joined Time Magazine as a business reporter and was active in the New York cultural world as head of the Art Lending Service and the Corporate Art Advisory Service at the Museum of Modern Art.

Ms. Price founded AVENUE Magazine in 1975. AVENUE pioneered the concept of highly targeted controlled media which has subsequently become a popular phenomenon. In addition to serving affluent households in New York for 25 years, AVENUE published international foreign language editions in Europe, Japan and China. Ms. Price sold AVENUE in 2001 to Stagebill.

Ms. Price remains active in New York City affairs as a board member of the Upper East Side Historic District, and President of the Avenue Association--a public, non-profit foundation dedicated to art and preservations projects. She is a founding Member of the Committee of 200, and as a member of the Young Presidents Organization she co-chaired the 1986 International University in Paris. She is founder of the Young Architects Prize at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; and a member of the Friends of the Musée Carnavalet in Paris.

Ms. Price is currently founder and President of the National Jewelry Institute, the country's first fine jewelry museum. The National Jewelry Institute launched its first exhibition, Masterpieces of American Jewelry, in New York in 2004, before opening in London at Somerset House and in Paris at the Musée Carnavalet. Subsequent exhibitions in the US and Europe include: Treasures of the Titans; Masterpieces of French Jewelry; Lorenz Baumer: The Creative Process of a Jeweler; Olympic Gold; Designer Showcase New York; and Designer Showcase Paris. In 2009 the National Jewelry Institute exhibited Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization, including objects from the Louvre, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Berlin Museum, in New York and Chicago. In 2010 Notorious Notable: 20th Century Women of Style was staged at the Museum of the City of New York.

Ms. Price is the author of Executive Style (Simon & Schuster), The Office Style Book (Crown Publishers), Masterpieces of American Jewelry (Running Press), Bijoux des Stars (Paris Musees); Masterpieces of French Jewelry (Running Press); Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization (Running Press). Her sixth book, LEST WE FORGET: Masterpieces in Patriotic Jewelry and Military Decorations will be published this Veterans Day, November 11th by Taylor Trade of Rowman and Littlefield. Ms. Price has received an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as the Creator of the NBC series Behind the Scenes, Made in New York.

Ms. Price has also received the L'Etoile Award for Franco-American cultural relations from the International Herald Tribune; and in 2006 was honored by the Mayor of Paris at the Hotel de Ville with the Medaille de Vermeil for her civic contributions and in 2011 was appointed to the rank of Chevalier in the National Order of the Legion of Honor by the President of the Republic for her "exemplary personal commitment to the culture of France." She was born in Philadelphia and is married to Peter O. Price, Chairman and CEO of Premiere Previews. They reside in New York and Paris.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The jewels if the ancient middle east excluding Egypt, Greece & Rome, November 8, 2008

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization (Hardcover)

There are surprisingly few books on jewellery in the ancient world that don't specialise in a specific culture. When I started reading this book I was surprised to find it had been produced in conjunction with an exhibition in New York but its not a listing catalogue as such and the scope is wide enough to encompass the early modern era as it includes Byzantine and early Islamic jewels.

The book is divided into sections that deal with the jewellery found in Mesopotamia, The Levant, Persia, Byzantium and early Islam. Each section of the book has included an interview with a person who is a specialist in the area being discussed. The items illustrated are not just gold items but also beads, rings etc.

The book has some lovely pieces illustrated, especially among the Byzantine and Islamic sections. Some of the best of these items are drawn from private collections and not commonly illustrated in other books, but because Egypt and Greece are excluded from the selection on display some of the truly breathtaking items from the ancient world won't be seen in this book. If you are after a book that covers areas in jewellery usually overlooked with ancient jewels this is worth picking up - but its hardly likely to be the last word or definitive tome on the subject and I'd give this three and a half stars if I could.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization, September 9, 2009

By 

Sage Reynolds (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization (Hardcover)

A well produced book but I was expecting to see a larger collection of ancient jewelry. The book has been put together as a who's who of jewelry archaeologists. Each person has written a chapter illustrated with a few examples of the jewelry in their area of expertise/investigation. An interesting idea in itself; it would be better if an overseeing editor could have added photographs by putting more examples to flesh out the presentation, from museums and private collections, relating the periods discussed.

It is an attractive book, I feel it should have more in it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good content, bad presentation, December 1, 2009

By 

designer/book collector (Brooklyn NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization (Hardcover)

This book is rich with imagery but its design is poorly presented. The typography is horrendous, the main text is inexplicably triple spaced, and makes for a very difficult read. A good source of information, but an unfortunate presentation of material.