Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry

The brand new and exquisitely illustrated book introduces the general public to one of the great collections of jewelry, 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 jewelry, each illustrated in colour, many with colour 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 jewelry 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 and 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-a-jour enamel by Rene 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 jewelry 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. 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. SELLING POINTS: . The first presentation of the highlights of this major collection of jewelry from the AncientWorld to Art Nouveau in nearly 20 years . Reveals the exquisite craftsmanship of major known makers, including Faberge 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 . Includes a Glossary of terms, makers and regions 80 colour illustrations