Category: History

Metalworking in Bronze Age China: The Lost-Wax Process by Peng Peng

Post author By Art Ride
Post date March 19, 2020

Coming from the Steel City, metal is in our blood, and so is all things artsy – objects made with metals. China has led the world in metalworking, as witness by the advanced science and technology developed by China in the areas of metalworking. This month we bring to you a wonderful book on the history, and evolution of metal working in bronze age China. Read on…

Metalworking in Bronze Age China is the first study that adopts a comprehensive, thorough, and interdisciplinary approach toward early Chinese lost-wax castings. It shows that the dominant belief that the lost-wax process as the optimal method for casting bronzes deserves more rigorous examination. In a broader sense, the book provides a study on the “norms,” which are seldom questioned. By examining the reasons why Chinese founders often chose not to use the lost-wax process they had clearly mastered, the book refutes the idea that lost-wax technology is the only “right way” to cast bronzes. This study demonstrates that a “norm” is in many ways an illusion that twists our comprehension of art, technology, civilization, and history.
From the book description

This book will be a wonderful addition to your library, and is a great conversation starter around the coffee table. For the globally aware, this is a veritable treasure. Call you book store in advance to check availability.

Ancient Museums

Art in the Eurasian Iron Age: Context, Connections and Scale by Courtney Nimura

Post author By Art Ride
Post date February 25, 2020

Iron Age. Because Iron was a killer-app! It led to the rise of civilizations, agriculture, industry, and accelerated war outcomes. However, a little noticed aspect of Iron Age is also the immense rise in art objects during the period. This new book on the subject by Courtney Nimura examines this ancient period’s art from close quarters. Read on…

Since early discoveries of so-called Celtic Art during the 19th century, archaeologists have mused on the origins of this major art tradition, which emerged in Europe around 500 BC. Classical influence has often been cited as the main impetus for this new and distinctive way of decorating, but although Classical and Celtic Art share certain motifs, many of the design principles behind the two styles differ fundamentally. Instead, the idea that Celtic Art shares its essential forms and themes of transformation and animism with Iron Age art from across northern Eurasia has recently gained currency, partly thanks to a move away from the study of motifs in prehistoric art and towards considerations of the contexts in which they appear.
This volume explores Iron Age art at different scales and specifically considers the long-distance connections, mutual influences and shared ‘ways of seeing’ that link Celtic Art to other art traditions across northern Eurasia. It brings together 13 papers on varied subjects such as animal and human imagery, technologies of production and the design theory behind Iron Age art, balancing pan-Eurasian scale commentary with regional and site scale studies and detailed analyses of individual objects, as well as introductory and summary papers. This multi-scalar approach allows connections to be made across wide geographical areas, whilst maintaining the detail required to carry out sensitive studies of objects.
From the book description

For readers with a keen interest in archaeology and ancient art, this is an excellent book, well written, thoroughly researched, and richly illustrated. Widely available at all leading bookstores, get your copy now!

Decorative Arts History

All Good Things: A Treasury of Images to Uplift the Spirits and Reawaken Wonder by Stephen Ellcock

Post author By Art Ride
Post date December 30, 2019

This is our second post for the month because we just couldn’t resist the temptation to show this amazing new book to our readers. Stephen Ellcock is an image collector curator and somewhat of an internet sensation with huge fan following. This book is a collection of beautiful images from the past and the present. Read on…

In 2013 picture researcher and former publisher Stephen Ellcock began selecting imagery and posting them on his Visual Rapture Facebook page. Five years and 300,000 followers later, Ellcock has an international following who avidly await his daily uploads and his carefully curated and sequenced albums of images. His selections of little known and public domain imagery regularly attain thousands or shares or comments from all around the world. All give thanks for the uplifting nature of his selections.
Taking his title from the first ever Encyclopedia in the English language, All Good Things (Omne Bonum)this new compendium of art and photography inspired by both the natural world and human endeavour will appeal both to his digital followers and our image-focused, solace-seeking times. Providing meditative focus and visual exhilaration – Ellcock celebrates our humanity and inspires us to wonder once more.
All Good Things is structured to evoke the medieval tradition of exquisite, illuminated books – beginning with the universal and travelling through the realms of sky, sea, earth, science and humanity before ending amongst the angels and monsters that have so preoccupied artists over the centuries.
Using found artwork from archives, libraries and little-known collections of art, illustration, photography and textiles this is a glorious adventure; one that can be appreciated on many levels. There will be introductions to each chapter as well as recommended image lists for enjoyment, restoration, inspiration. Carefully selected quotes from poets from thinkers, writers and scientists will counterpoint images perfectly and add to the richness of this beautifully produced book.
From the book description

It feels nice to close the year with such a richly illustrated book. We wish you a wonderful new year 2020, and all good things!

Ancient Latin America Museums

The Market for Mesoamerica: Reflections on the Sale of Pre-Columbian Antiquities by Cara G. Tremain

Post author By Art Ride
Post date September 12, 2019

Trade and possession of antiquities has always fascinated art aficionados. This month we present to you, in this series, a very interesting book by Cara G. Temain on the sale of pre-Columbian Antiquities. It examines the entire economic chain behind Central American art objects through a broad lens and the readers who would like to learn more about this oft-forgotten part of the world will find it a very interesting book. Read on…

Pre-Columbian artifacts are among the most popular items on the international antiquities market, yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to monitor these items as public, private, and digital sales proliferate. This timely volume explores past, current, and future policies and trends concerning the sales and illicit movement of artifacts from Mesoamerica to museums and private collections.
Informed by the fields of anthropology, economics, law, and criminology, contributors critically analyze practices of research and collecting in Central American countries. They assess the circulation of looted and forged artifacts on the art market and in museums and examine government and institutional policies aimed at fighting trafficking. They also ask if and how scholars can use materials removed from their context to interpret the past.
The theft of cultural heritage items from their places of origin is a topic of intense contemporary discussion, and The Market for Mesoamerica updates our knowledge of this issue by presenting undocumented and illicit antiquities within a regional and global context. Through discussion of transparency, accountability, and ethical practice, this volume ultimately considers how antiquities can be protected and studied through effective policy and professional practice.
From the book description

Heading into the holiday season, this book is a great find and a fine addition to your library or those of your friends. This one book offers much more between its covers than several semesters of learning art economics at the art school. Definitely for the academically oriented. Widely available at all leading book stores. Get your copy now!

Europe Medieval Religious Renaissance

Gothic 1200-1500 by Uta Hasekamp

Post author By Art Ride
Post date August 16, 2019

Gothic is a frequently misunderstood term and unless you are well versed with the period history, it is easy to pigeon-hole the term into one or the other simplistic categories. We have a special recommendation for you this month. For the readers who would like to develop a better understanding of Gothic art and architecture, and its connection to religion, economic growth, war, disease and other discontinuities of the period will surely enjoy this wonderful book by Uta Hasekamp. Read on…

Painting from 1200 to 1500 is a mirror of its time, marked by deep religiousness as well as progressive tendencies, by economic prosperity as well as devastating wars and epidemics. A religious perspective is joined by secular themes and efforts to achieve a realistic way of representation. These developments take place in book illumination, which is accessible to rather few people, as well as in the public medium of frescoes and, since 1300, also in panel paintings. With nearly 500 works, Gothic 1200-1500 gives an overview of the visual art of the time.
From the book description

This book offers unique insights into the society and culture of the period 1200 to 1500, and it is really hard to categorize such a brilliant work into a particular category. This book is not widely available, and you may like to check with your local book store in advance.

History Society and Culture

Native Arts Of North America, Africa, And The South Pacific: An Introduction by George A. Corbin

Post author By Art Ride
Post date July 18, 2019

This month we bring an excellent academic compilations for the students of native arts all over the world. George A Corbin’s book on native arts is an in-depth study into chosen native art styles. This is a timely release as the focus world over grows on going back to the roots of native people and bringing the original art into focus, as opposed to mass-produced plastic art that the world has come to become comfortable with. Read on…

This introduction to the art of tribal peoples of North America, Africa, and the South Pacific does not briefly cover the hundreds of artistic traditions in these three vast areas but rather studies in depth thirty-six art styles within all three areas using the methods of art history, including stylistic analysis and iconographic interpretation. Emphasis is on the art in cultural context and as a system of visual communication within each tribal area. Where appropriate for a more complete understanding of the art, data from archaeology, ethnology, linguistics, religion, and other humanistic disciplines are included.Among the peoples and cultures whose art is studied are the Haida, Kwakiutl, and Tlingit; the Hohokam and Mongollon, the Anasazi and Hopi; the Dogon and Bamana of Mali; the Asante of Ghana; the Benin, Yoruba, and Ibo of Nigeria; the Fan, the Bamum, and the Kuba of Central Africa; Australian aboriginal and Island New Guinea art; Island Melanesia art; central and eastern Polynesia; Hawaii and the Maori in Marginal Polynesia.The format of the text and selected illustrations is based on seventeen years of teaching African, North American Indian, and South Pacific art to undergraduate and graduate students at Herbert H. Lehman College (CUNY), New York University, and Columbia University. The book is intended for art history and anthropology students and the interested lay reader or collector. The detailed notes at the end of the book are for further study, research, and understanding of the tribal art style under discussion.
From the book description

This is an excellent book for the researcher. However, casual readers who buy books only for the pictures can skip it. This book requires serious reading, deep contemplation and connecting our present to our collective pasts. Widely available at leading bookstores. Get your copy now!

Architecture Decorative Arts Frescoes Medieval

Medieval Art by Marilyn Stokstad

Post author By Art Ride
Post date May 25, 2019

Art appreciation is a skill that can be learnt, with the right instruction and the right teacher. Marilyn Stokstad aims to do the same with her book on Medieval Art. This month we present to you this gem of a book on medieval art that covers a broad range of art and architecture topics. Read on…

This book teaches the reader how to look at medieval art–which aspects of architecture, sculpture, or painting are important and for what reasons. It includes the art and building of what is now Western Europe from the second to the fifteenth centuries.
From the book description

For the readers who don’t mind their growing library of Medieval Art, this is an excellent addition. Albeit expensive, and relatively scarce, this book walks the fine balance of teaching through demonstrating. Get it wherever you can.

Colonial War

Lady Butler: painting, travel and war by Catherine Wynne

Post author By Art Ride
Post date March 26, 2019

Long before PTSD was an acknowledged and researched condition, Lady Elizabeth Butler, as a war painter, had been documenting the agony, tyranny, shock and horrors of war through her paintbrush. A consummate artist, she left behind a treasure trove of art and manuscripts, most of which now finds place in this book by Catherine Wynne. Read on…

A ‘recovery’ project drawing on unpublished letters and diaries, this is the first biography of Victorian Britain’s famous war artist, Elizabeth Thompson Butler. She transformed war art by depicting conflict trauma, decades before its designation as a medical condition. Married to an officer in the British army, she traveled with her husband’s military postings. Her art is prescient in its concern about the implications of foreign military intervention and champions the ordinary soldier and the dispossessed. Lady Butler is a story of travel and history, of war and conflict, of Italy of the Risorgimento, of the London art world where she achieved celebrity and negotiated the difficulties of being a female artist in a male-dominated domain, and of imperial travel. Her biography reveals a figure whose perspective on war is modern, whose confidence in achieving success in the masculine field of battle art taps into contemporary debates, and whose work provokes a rethinking of the post-imperial world.
From the book description

Readers who like to learn more about the colonial world, especially imperial Britain, will like this collection of visuals of their foreign policy, which was war, to be a thrilling, and some times soul-stirring journey. Not for the faint-hearted! Widely available at most large book stores.

Ancient India Museums

Art and Archaeology of Ancient India: Earliest Times to the Sixth Century by Naman P. Ahuja

Post author By Art Ride
Post date December 23, 2018

Wishing all our readers Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This month we bring to you a topic that is very close to us – Art in Ancient India. For those who know India also know about the wonderful art of Ancient India – be it through sculptures, statues, cave paintings, or other archaeological finds. This fascinating book from Naman P. Ahuja pulls all these resources together to create an engrossing volume on the subject. Read on…

• This book covers all early Indian objects (pre-600 AD) held by the Department of Eastern Art in the Ashmolean Museum • Contains previously unpublished material • New photography for all objectsThe Ashmolean Museum is fortunate in having the most comprehensive British collection of the art of the Indian subcontinent outside London. Especially strong in sculpture, this rich representation of Indian art from prehistory to the twentieth century has come about through the generosity of our benefactors over more than three centuries. The Museum’s first major Indian sculpture acquisition, a stone Pala-style Vishnu image of the eleventh century, was given in 1686 by Sir William Hedges, a governor of the East India Company in Bengal. From the late nineteenth century, a substantial core of the present collection was assembled at the University’s former Indian Institute Museum (1897-1962), precursor of the Department of Eastern Art, which opened within the Ashmolean in 1963. Since that date many more Indian objects of all periods have been acquired by gift, bequest or purchase.
From the book description

If you are still looking for a new year gift for yourselves or for someone else, this book will be an excellent purchase. Widely available now. Get your copy today.

Calligraphy Decorative Arts History

The World Encyclopedia of Calligraphy: The Ultimate Compendium on the Art of Fine Writing by Christopher Calderhead

Post author By Art Ride
Post date November 23, 2018

Continuing with our theme of arcane topics, this month we bring to you the only book that you will ever need to read about calligraphy – art of fine writing. If your familiarity with calligraphy goes beyond that college certificate on your wall, you will fall in love with this book. Amazing illustrations and an in-depth story. Read on…

Discover the sophisticated beauty of calligraphy from around the world with this comprehensive, one-of-a-kind resource.
This groundbreaking international tour of calligraphy now features a sumptuous new foil-stamped cover. Showcasing the work of a roster of international artists, it features more than 60 scripts drawn by experts from America and Armenia to Syria and Tibet. Reflecting the diversity of contemporary calligraphy, it includes lessons and exercises for learning to write 28 alphabets, including Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Roman, and more. This unique volume offers an exploration of each script’s history, while beautiful step-by-step instructions and examples will inspire and guide calligraphy enthusiasts and experts alike.
From the book description

For the readers who admire fine writing, and would like to learn more, this is a fundamental book. A lot of research has gone into this book and you will appreciate the academic flavor. Widely available at leading book stores.