Bedazzled, 5,000 Years of JewelryThe Walters Art Museum
Published by GILES in association with the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
Publish Date — October 2005 (UK and USA)
Dimensions — 64 pages, 180 x 180mm (7 x 7 in.)
Illustrations — 80 colour illustrations
Paperback price — UK£6.95/US$11.95
ISBN — 1-904832-16-4
ISBN — 978-1-904832-16-4
Book Details (pdf) — Bedazzled_ai.pdf
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Sales Points
The first presentation in nearly 20 years of highlights of this major collection of jewellery from the Ancient World to Art Nouveau
Reveals the exquisite craftsmanship of major known makers, including Fabergé and Lalique, and of unknown master craftsmen from the ancient Greek, later Roman and early Byzantine empires
Colour illustrated throughout, including details and comparative illustrations, with a glossary of terms, makers and region
About the Book
This brand new and exquisitely illustrated book introduces the general public to one of the great collections of jewellery, with examples of major objects dating from the 1st century BC to the turn of the twentieth century.
The volume presents 50 key items of jewellery, each illustrated in colour, many with details. Each object is accompanied by an extended caption, including information on date, maker – where known – and region. Specific terminology, when used, is always explained; each text clearly states why a particular object is important. The jewellery selected shows an enormous range of periods, regions, artistic and stylist development, and materials.
Signature items featured in this volume include a magnificent pair of gold bracelets encrusted with precious stones and multicolour enamel inlay discovered inside a tomb in Olbia, Ukraine, and dating to the Hellenistic Period of the 1st-century BC; a pair of gold and semi-precious stone-inlaid eagle fibulae, dating from 6th-century Visigothic Spain; a cameo and gold-mounted brooch depicting Ellen Walters, made in Italy by the Saulini family around 1862; a gold Iris Corsage ornament by Tiffany & Co., decorated with sapphires, garnets, topaz and diamonds, first displayed in Paris in 1900; and a wonderful corsage ornament of pansy blossoms executed in a combination of cast glass and plique-à-jour enamel by René Lalique, dating from 1904. The latter piece is especially significant because it marks one of the first instances of Lalique’s use of cast glass, and anticipates his decision in 1909 to renounce jewellery production and turn exclusively to glass manufacturing.
Particular emphasis is placed on the style, beauty and craftsmanship of the selected items; each is discussed both in itself and within the context of the wider regional makers and period. A Glossary provides information on terms, makers and regions.
