Overview

This volume presents a selection from a large private collection of engraved gems, finger rings and cylinder seals. It was created from 1921 through the 1960s from various sources, and includes many examples from old collections that had come on to the market, notably the Evans, Southesk, and (for later gems) Poniatowski, as well as many purchased from dealers and in auctions. They are now in the possession of the collector's son, who encouraged this publication. Boardman had already published a selection, mainly of the Greek and Etruscan gems from the collection, in Intaglios and Rings (London, Thames and Hudson, 1975), and these stones have since been purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu (except for nos. 9, 17, 86, 149, 154, 205-208). The present selection also includes some early gems, omitted from the earlier publication for various reasons, but it is mainly devoted to the Hellenistic and Roman, as well as to a choice of the many Sasanian stones, cylinder seals, other eastern, and Neo-classical. The selection has been determined by the apparent interest of each piece for either its style or its subject, but also represents a fairly typical range of gem engraving through the Greek and Roman worlds, and outside it - including Etruscan, Greco-Persian, Syrian, Persian, Phoenician, Sasanian and the early production of cylinders in the near east. This is the type of material that was available for collectors in the first half of the last century. The catalogue takes the form of a descriptive handlist rather than a catalogue raisonné, with select comparanda, and with more attention paid to the puzzling or important pieces. Of these there are several of the highest quality, and several of exceptional archaeological or iconographic interest. The prime motive has been to make much of the collection known to scholars who might wish to take study of individual pieces further. To this end the publication of mainly unprovenanced engraved gems is of no less importance than that of unprovenanced decorated vases. This volume inaugurates the new series Studies in Gems and Jewellery.

Full Product Details

9781841715094

Table of Contents

Reviews

A superb entry in a superb series: an exquisite sense of time and place, a satisfying mystery with a breathless conclusion, and above all the complex, haunted, charismatic Inspector Ian Rutledge himself-truly one of crime fiction's most absorbing characters. -- Lee Child, #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author Praise for No Shred of Evidence: It's that melancholy tone, the legacy of the trenches, that gives Todd's polite rural mystery such uncommon depth. -- Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review on NO SHRED OF EVIDENCE Poirot was one name, Holmes was another, and Rutledge deserves to be in that classic pack of crime solvers. -- Suspense Magazine on NO SHRED OF EVIDENCE Fans already mourning the end of Downton Abbey can easily get their English fix by following Rutledge and Hamish on their rounds. -- Wilmington Star News on NO SHRED OF EVIDENCE The mother and son team, who write as Charles Todd, deftly capture the atmosphere of post World War I England in this complex mystery which will appeal to fans of British mysteries. -- Iron Mountain Daily News on NO SHRED OF EVIDENCE Praise for the Ian Rutledge series: I love series that follow particular characters over time and through their experiences, so I automatically read the latest installments from ... Charles Todd. -- Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York Times Book Review Todd writes a rich mystery, but in investigating the murder Rutledge also probes the psychic wounds of the village and tries to minister to the collective survivor guilt of the living. `The dead,' as the voice in his head tells him, `still believe it was worth dying for.' -- Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review on RACING THE DEVIL Charles Todd (actually a mother-son writing team) pulls off the voice-in-the-head device exquisitely. Moreover, the series is populated with highly nuanced characters, and the historical research is spot on. In Racing the Devil, the pacing is compelling. -- Newark Star Ledger Todd's rich storytelling shines in Racing the Devil, showing an England forever changed by The Great War, yet determined to survive. -- South Florida Sun Sentinel

Blank

Author Information

Claudia Wagner and John Boardman Sir John Boardman is one of the foremost experts on ancient Greek art. Having served as Assistant Director of the British School at Athens between 1952 and 1955, he was Assistant Keeper at the Ashmolean Museum and later Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the University of Oxford between 1978 and his retirement in 1994. His many publications include the volumes on Greek Sculpture and Athenian Black and Red Figure vases for Thames and Hudson's World of Art series. He continues his research at the Beazley Archive, concentrating on the history of gem collections.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available