Ancient Gems and Finger Rings catalogues the J. Paul Getty Museum's comprehensive and important collection of Greek, Roman, Etruscan, and Near Eastern gems. Most of these objects have never before been published, making this catalogue essential for the scholar. The volume is fully and richly illustrated—each entry includes photographs of the gem and its impression as well as a profile drawing. Where pertinent, bibliographic references and comparative material are cited.
From about 2000 BCE onward, Egypt served as an important nexus for cultural exchange in the eastern Mediterranean, importing and exporting not just wares but also new artistic techniques and styles. Egyptian, Greek, and Roman craftsmen imitated one another’s work, creating cultural and artistic hybrids that transcended a single tradition. Yet in spite of the remarkable artistic production that resulted from these interchanges, the complex vicissitudes of exchange between Egypt and the Classical world over the course of nearly 2500 years have not been comprehensively explored in a major exhibition or publication in the United States. It is precisely this aspect of Egypt’s history, however, that Beyond the Nile uncovers. Renowned scholars have come together to provide compelling analyses of the constantly evolving dynamics of cultural exchange, first between Egyptians and Greeks—during the Bronze Age, then the Archaic and Classical periods of Greece, and finally Ptolemaic Egypt—and later, when Egypt passed to Roman rule with the defeat of Cleopatra. Beyond the Nile, a milestone publication issued on the occasion of a major international exhibition, will become an indispensable contribution to the field. With gorgeous photographs of more than two hundred rare objects, including frescoes, statues, obelisks, jewelry, papyri, pottery, and coins, this volume offers an essential and inter-disciplinary approach to the rich world of artistic cross-pollination during antiquity.
The miniaturist art of gem engraving is the least familiar of the major arts of ancient Greece, yet we know it to have been practiced by the greatest artists. This book presents a comprehensive account of the art in Greek lands from the early Bronze Age down to the Hellenistic period. The gems are related to history and to the artistic achievements in other media of their day, and the subject matter of the scenes engraved upon them is examined and found to hold much that will be new to students of Greek myth and iconography. The development of the Bronze Age studios in the Minoan and Mycenaean world is discussed, and the works of the great period of Classical gem engraving are resolved into their styles and schools, with a special chapter devoted to Greek works within the Persian Empire.
This is the third out of eight projected volumes making available to the public the contents in the collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities in one of Canada’s most prestigious museums. Here are presented a variety of metal objects (mostly bronze figurines, medical instruments, brooches, weaponry and a lead sarcophagus), the small collection of jewelry and the ancient gems and seal stones (mainly Roman) some still set in rings. Ce volume est le troisième de la série de huit volumes projetés qui vise à publier la collection des antiquités grecques et romaines d’un des grands musées canadiens. Nous présentons ici des objets métalliques très variés (surtout des statuettes de bronze, des instruments médicaux, des épingles, des armes et un sarcophage de plomb), un petit nombre de bijoux et de gemmes anciennes (surtout romaines) certaines encore serties dans une bague.
