Friday 31 October 2008The Walters bedazzles the world with its magnificent collection of jewelry
Bedazzled, 5,000 Years of Jewelry
Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry is the first presentation of the highlights of this major collection of jewelry in nearly twenty years, with examples of major objects dating from the 1st century BC to the early twentieth century. It will be published on October 10, 2005 by London-based D Giles Ltd. in association with the Walters Art Museum.
This volume contains 80 color images, presenting over fifty pieces of exquisite jewelry. The pieces selected represent an enormous range of periods, regions, artistic and stylistic developments, and materials. Signature objects featured include a magnificent pair of gold bracelets encrusted with precious stones and multicolored enamel inlay discovered inside a tomb in Olbia, in present-day Ukraine, and dating to the 1st century BC; a pair of eagle fibulae from 6th-century Visigothic Spain; a gold Iris Corsage ornament by Tiffany & Co., decorated with 139 sapphires, garnets, and other gems that was a grand prize winner at the 1900 Paris Exposition universelle; and a wonderful corsage ornament of pansy blossoms executed in 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.
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.
From September 2006, the jewelry featured in this volume will be exhibited nationally across the United States. Venues include the Frist Center for the Arts, Nashville, Tennessee and the Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida.
The Author
Sabine Albersmeier is assistant curator for Ancient Art at the Walters Art Museum, where she is responsible for the Greek and Roman collection. Prior to her arrival at the Walters, Dr. Albersmeier was project leader for the Badisches Landesmuseum, Germany in cooperation with the Zentrum fur Kunst und Medienkultur Karlsruhe. Between 1999 and 2001, she was a research curator at the Badisches Landesmuseum, where she was involved in the preparation of exhibitions, including The Myth of Tutankhamun (2001), which she curated.
Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry
The Walters Art Museum
Sabine Albersmeier
64 pages, 180 x 180mm (7 x 7 in.)
80 color illustrations
ISBN: 978 1 904832 16 4 (13 digit)
ISBN: 1 904832 16 4 (10 digit)
Price: US$11.95/UK£6.95, paperback
Text: Up to 11,000 words
Publication date: October 10, 2005
Publisher: D Giles Limited, London
Distributed in the UK and Rest of World (excluding US and Canada) by
Antique Collectors’ Club
Sandy Lane
Old Martlesham
Woodbridge
Suffolk
IP12 4SD
UK
T: +44 (0)1394 389950
F: +44 (0)1394 389999
Enquiries: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Distributed in the US and Canada by
Antique Collectors’ Club
Eastworks,
116 Pleasant Street, Suite 18
Easthampton, MA 01027
Toll-free orders: 800-252-5231
For Further Information and Review Copies:
In the UK contact: Liz Japes
20 Lockitt Way
Kingston
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 3LG
Tel: +44 (0)1273 480225
E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
In the USA contact: Karen Lunstead, Marketing Manager
Eastworks,
116 Pleasant Street, Suite 18
Easthampton, MA 01027
Tel: 1 413 529 0862
E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
For more information about the Walters Art Museum please contact:
For illustrations and interviews:
Michael Smith, Head of Marketing and PR
The Walters Art Museum
Tel: 410 547 9000 Exn.
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Walters Art Museum is internationally renowned for its collections, which were amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters and his son Henry.
The Walters' interest in art collecting began in the 1850s, when William began collecting the work of local talents. In 1861, when the Walters family moved from Baltimore to Paris after the outbreak of the Civil War, William and his wife, Ellen, began to collect European art from artists, dealers, and exhibitions throughout France, Switzerland, Italy, and England. After Ellen's untimely death in 1862, William turned to art collecting with even more enthusiasm.
When William died in 1894, he bequeathed his collection to his son, Henry, who greatly When William died in 1894, he bequeathed his collection to his son, Henry, who greatly expanded the scope of acquisitions, including his astounding purchase of the contents of a palace in Rome that contained over 1,700 pieces. In September 1900, Henry bought the three houses adjoining the property his father had owned to house and display his collection. He had the site transformed into a palazzo-like building, which opened to the public in 1909. He died in 1931, leaving the building and its contents to the mayor and city council of Baltimore "for the benefit of the public." The Walters Art Gallery—now the Walters Art Museum—opened its doors for the first time as a public institution on November 3, 1934. In 1974, a new, larger wing was opened on the corner of Centre and Cathedral streets, adding dramatically to the museum's gallery space. In 1991, the museum opened another building, Hackerman House, which holds the collection of Asian art.
The collection presents an overview of world art from pre-dynastic Egypt to 20th-century Europe, and counts among its many treasures Greek sculpture and Roman sarcophagi; medieval ivories and Old Master paintings; Art Deco jewellery and 19th-century masterpieces.
In the autumn of 2001, the Walters celebrated the Grand Reopening of its largest building, which underwent a dramatic three-year renovation. The renovation allows many objects to be on view for the first time, and presents the collection in a dramatic new light.
October 2005 will herald the next major phase in the Walters development program, with the reopening of the original Palazzo building, which will house the reinstalled and internationally renowned collection of Old Master paintings.
