archaeology calligraphy perspective decipherment

books:

1 review

British Museum Press, 2002

A gem
This book is clearly written and profusely illustrated with many wonderful examples of Persian art at it's best. Ms. Canby does an amazing job of providing a good historical , as well as art historical, foundation for the reader. In these difficult times, it's very worthwhile to be reminded that Islam has produced much sublime beauty. As an artist, I value this book both as a historical document ...

Scribes and Illuminators (Medieval Craftsmen)

1 review
Christopher De Hamel

British Museum Press, 1992

My Aunt's Nuts
This is a fabulous book. There are a myriad of books available on the market, but this one is unique. Christopher De Hamel has a deep passion for this material as a scholar (at Corpus Christi, Cambridge), a researcher (at Sotheby's), and as a practitioner (at his Aunt's garden finding nuts to create medieval colors). His book follows the general direction of preparing the parchment, ruling the ...

The Anglo Saxons (British Museum Activity Books)

1 review
John Reeve, Jenny Chattington

British Museum Press, 1999

Good supplement for a hard to supplement subject!
Well, as you might imagine there aren't a lot of titles out there covering the Anglo Saxons for kids! ( Gee I wonder why?) So, if you are studying the history of early Britain, or the Dark Ages etc... this makes a nice supplement to your studies. Everything the British Museum publishes is very well done and this is no exception. ( Grades 3-6)

Arabic Calligraphy

2 reviews
Mustafa Ja'far, Venetia Porter

British Museum Press, 2002

A Must For Calligraph-a-holics!
Though I've only read through this book, not yet having 'road-tested' it, I am thoroughly delighted in finding this slim volume and hope that further series (amateur, advanced, specialised) are forthcoming. For starters, I think it should be stated that this book is not for someone who wants to gain an understanding of the Arabic alphabet, i.e. pronunciation. This is a book for someone who knows ...

Hindu Art (Art History)

1 review
T.Richard Blurton

British Museum Press, 1992

Excellent treatment of Hindu Art
As the title makes clear, this book is dedicated exclusively to Hindu art - a tradition you don't hear too much about but that is extremely rewarding. It contains wonderful color reproductions and insightful text which centers more around major deities and their art rather than a linear history (although there is some of this). The book is especially good at contextualizing the subject - ...

The Art of Ancient Egypt. Gay Robins

7 reviews
Gay Robins

British Museum Press, 2008

accurate information on Ancient Egyptian art
Clearly and thoroughly explained, this book provides an accurate description of Egyptian art from the Early Dynastic Period to the Ptolemaic Period. The author demonstrates the importance and place of art in Ancient Egypt. Beautiful illustrations from tomb paintings, sculptures, coffins, and many objects accompany the text. A definite must for both students and professionals.

Icons

1 review
Robin Cormack

British Museum Press, 2007

Important Documentary of Icons
Knowledgable presentation of the origin, meaning, creation, and use of icons. Great color photographs of the icons with sufficient detail to understand their artistic merit and relgious purpose. The end of the book provides small, color photographs with detail of the icons in the collection of the British Museum, making this book a "must have" for reference. A fabulous buy at this price and a ...

The Emperor Hadrian
Thorsten Opper

British Museum Press, 2008

Korea: Art and Archaeology

2 reviews
Jane Portal

British Museum Press, 2000

very interesting
Very interesting book on Korean art, how its art began and changed with its history, its relationship with the arts of China and Japan, and to some extent the Korean people. It starts in the Neolithic times with some interesting ideas on early future-to-be-Korean people based on artifacts and ends with the 20th century (mostly paintings) though the bulk of the book covers the 3 Kingdom, Koryo and ...

Painted Tomb Chapel of Nebamun
Richard Parkinson

British Museum Press, 2008

The paintings from Nebamun's tomb chapel are among the greatest and most famous of the British Museum's treasures. Yet much about them remains mysterious, and this book is concerned with the detective work undertaken to help us to understand and see them properly before they are displayed in a new permanent gallery in 2008. For this the paintings are being conserved and remounted in the Museum's specialist laboratories, a process that is ...

Cracking Code: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment

2 reviews
Richard Parkinson

British Museum Press, 1999

most informative book ever published on the Rosetta Stone
This book was written as an accompanying extract to a British Museum exhibit celebrating the bicentenary of its discovery, and accurately presents the important Rosetta Stone. This is achieved by means of outlining the Stone's history, controversy around its discovery and its deciphering which gave the key to understanding the hieroglyphs. Using this as his starting point, the author continues ...

Voices from Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Middle Kingdom Writings

3 reviews
Richard B. Parkinson

British Museum Press, 2006

Must have for anyone interested in Ancient Egypt
This anthology is unique in that it includes not only tales, biographies, and wisdom literature, but also contains samples of medical texts, letters, and even "cartoons." By providing such a mixture of writings from ancient Egypt, Parkinson's book is able to offer us a glimpse into the lives of individuals from a wide spectrum of Egyptian society. His translations are accurate, yet he succeeds ...

Ancient Board Games in Perspective

British Museum Press, 2007

Table of contents: Preface (John Curtis); The Study of Board Games and the present volume (I.F. Finkel); 1. The Earliest materials Homo Ludens: Early Board Games in the Near East (St. John Simpson); 2. Ancient Mesopotamia The Royal Game of Ur (A. Becker); The Game and the play of the Royal Game of Ur (I.F. Finkel); 3. Egypt Mehen: the ancient game of the serpent (Timothy Kendall); Were there gamesters in ancient Egypt? (W.J. Tait);The Egyptian ...

The Lewis Chessmen (Objects in Focus) (Objects in Focus) (Objects in Focus)
James Robinson

British Museum Press, 2004

These enchanting chess pieces consist of elaborately worked walrus ivory and whales' teeth in the form of seated kings and queens, mitred bishops, knights on their mounts, standing warders and pawns in the shape of obelisks. They were found in the vicinity of Uig on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, in mysterious circumstances some time before 11th April 1831. Various stories have evolved to explain why they were concealed there, and how they ...

The Warren Cup (Objects in Focus)
Dyfri Williams

The British Museum Press, 2006

This is the book to accompany a special display at the British Museum, telling the unique story of this exquisitely crafted Roman silver drinking cup, engraved with erotic scenes. (Takes place between 11th May and 2nd July, 2006). Created in the first century AD, and after being condemned to an undeserved obscurity for too long, the cup shows a pair of male lovers in explicit homoerotic scenes that reflect the mores of the time and region in ...

Word Into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East
Venetia Porter

British Museum Press, 2006

Food fit for Pharaohs: An Ancient Egyptian Cookbook
Michelle Berriedale-Johnson

British Museum Press, 2008

The great fertility of the Nile valley provided the ancient Egyptians with a delicious and wholesome diet ranging from staples such as bread and beer to herbs and spices like dill, mint and cumin. Using these ingredients the British Museum's 'chef du tempe perdu' has created 35 recipes for dishes the pharaohs and their people may have eaten, including soups, starters and snacks, main dishes, desserts and baking. Paperback reissue.

Noble Art: Amateur Artists and Drawing Masters (C.1600-1800)
Kim Sloan

British Museum Press, 2000

Ten Thousand Years of Pottery

3 reviews
Emmanuel Cooper

British Museum Press, 2002

An essential, historical, comprehensive scholarly reference.
Now in a fully updated and expanded fourth edition, Ten Thousand Years Of Pottery continues to be a wonderfully lavish and illustrated history of pottery making from its antiquarian beginnings with the earliest Near East and Middle civilizations to the present day. A global perspective is taken with representations from the Mediterranean, Asian, Islamic, Meso American, neolithic Britain, to ...

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