Luxury Arts of the Renaissance
Luxury Arts of the Renaissance

Author: Marina Belozerskaya

Publisher: Getty Publications

Published: 2005-10-01

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 0892367857

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Today we associate the Renaissance with painting, sculpture, and architecture—the “major” arts. Yet contemporaries often held the “minor” arts—gem-studded goldwork, richly embellished armor, splendid tapestries and embroideries, music, and ephemeral multi-media spectacles—in much higher esteem. Isabella d’Este, Marchesa of Mantua, was typical of the Italian nobility: she bequeathed to her children precious stone vases mounted in gold, engraved gems, ivories, and antique bronzes and marbles; her favorite ladies-in-waiting, by contrast, received mere paintings. Renaissance patrons and observers extolled finely wrought luxury artifacts for their exquisite craftsmanship and the symbolic capital of their components; paintings and sculptures in modest materials, although discussed by some literati, were of lesser consequence. This book endeavors to return to the mainstream material long marginalized as a result of historical and ideological biases of the intervening centuries. The author analyzes how luxury arts went from being lofty markers of ascendancy and discernment in the Renaissance to being dismissed as “decorative” or “minor” arts—extravagant trinkets of the rich unworthy of the status of Art. Then, by re-examining the objects themselves and their uses in their day, she shows how sumptuous creations constructed the world and taste of Renaissance women and men.

History of the Fan
History of the Fan

Author: G. Woolliscroft Rhead

Publisher: Good Press

Published: 2019-11-27

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13:

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In 'History of the Fan' by G. Woolliscroft Rhead, readers are taken on a fascinating journey through the cultural and historical significance of fans. This detailed account explores the evolution of fans from practical tools to symbols of status and fashion, illuminating their significance in various societies. Rhead's writing style is engaging and informative, making this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in the social history of everyday objects. The author's meticulous research and attention to detail provide a comprehensive overview of the fan's role in different cultures and time periods. G. Woolliscroft Rhead, a renowned expert in decorative arts and material culture, brings his expertise to 'History of the Fan' by delving into the rich history and symbolism of this often overlooked accessory. Rhead's extensive knowledge and passion for the subject shine through in his meticulous exploration of the fan's evolution and cultural significance. I highly recommend 'History of the Fan' to readers interested in cultural history, decorative arts, or fashion studies. Rhead's thorough examination of this everyday object sheds light on its often overlooked importance and provides valuable insights into the social and cultural dynamics surrounding it.

Transfer Between Sea and Land
Transfer Between Sea and Land

Author: Simone Kahlow

Publisher:

Published: 2018-10-09

Total Pages: 150

ISBN-13: 9789088906206

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Questions about the cultural exchange of both knowledge and material goods are just as topical today as in years gone by. These questions have gained increasing attention from scholars since the 1980s when the term 'transfers cultures' by historians arose. However, this book provides a completely new approach in this context by interdisciplinary investigation of cultural exchanges based on chosen objects from shipwrecks and land, significant written documents and verifiable transfer of knowledge. The publication combines studies from humanities and natural sciences. Thus, historians, archaeologists, and pharmacists have investigated the way of transfer by means of material and immaterial goods, such as ship lists, medicine, metal ware, exotic animals and Asian objects as well as ship constructions. They set out, the continuity and discontinuity of cultural exchange based on moving objects depending on different conditions such as region, time, demand and availability. The innovative contributions of the publication aim to improve the understanding of cultural exchange by sea, as well as its reflection on land in the Early Modern Time and are the results of a workshop, which took place in the German Maritime Museum Bremerhaven, a Research Institute of the Leibniz Association, in 2015. The results show good promise for forthcoming investigations at the interface between History and Maritime Archaeology. The book targets graduate and post-graduate interdisciplinary researchers of archaeological, human, and natural sciences as well as everybody interested in both post-medieval and maritime history.

When Scotland Was Jewish
When Scotland Was Jewish

Author: Elizabeth Caldwell Hirschman

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-05-07

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 0786455225

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The popular image of Scotland is dominated by widely recognized elements of Celtic culture. But a significant non-Celtic influence on Scotland's history has been largely ignored for centuries? This book argues that much of Scotland's history and culture from 1100 forward is Jewish. The authors provide evidence that many of the national heroes, villains, rulers, nobles, traders, merchants, bishops, guild members, burgesses, and ministers of Scotland were of Jewish descent, their ancestors originating in France and Spain. Much of the traditional historical account of Scotland, it is proposed, rests on fundamental interpretive errors, perpetuated in order to affirm Scotland's identity as a Celtic, Christian society. A more accurate and profound understanding of Scottish history has thus been buried. The authors' wide-ranging research includes examination of census records, archaeological artifacts, castle carvings, cemetery inscriptions, religious seals, coinage, burgess and guild member rolls, noble genealogies, family crests, portraiture, and geographic place names.