French Rococo Ébénisterie in the J. Paul Getty Museum
French Rococo Ébénisterie in the J. Paul Getty Museum

Author: Gillian Wilson

Publisher: Getty Publications

Published: 2021-03-30

Total Pages: 721

ISBN-13: 1606066323

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The first comprehensive catalogue of the Getty Museum’s significant collection of French Rococo ébénisterie furniture. This catalogue focuses on French ébénisterie furniture in the Rococo style dating from 1735 to 1760. These splendid objects directly reflect the tastes of the Museum’s founder, J. Paul Getty, who started collecting in this area in 1938 and continued until his death in 1976. The Museum’s collection is particularly rich in examples created by the most talented cabinet masters then active in Paris, including Bernard van Risenburgh II (after 1696–ca. 1766), Jacques Dubois (1694–1763), and Jean-François Oeben (1721–1763). Working for members of the French royal family and aristocracy, these craftsmen excelled at producing veneered and marquetried pieces of furniture (tables, cabinets, and chests of drawers) fashionable for their lavish surfaces, refined gilt-bronze mounts, and elaborate design. These objects were renowned throughout Europe at a time when Paris was considered the capital of good taste. The entry on each work comprises both a curatorial section, with description and commentary, and a conservation report, with construction diagrams. An introduction by Anne-Lise Desmas traces the collection’s acquisition history, and two technical essays by Arlen Heginbotham present methodologies and findings on the analysis of gilt-bronze mounts and lacquer. The free online edition of this open-access publication is available at www.getty.edu/publications/rococo/ and includes zoomable, high-resolution photography. Also available are free PDF, EPUB, and Kindle/MOBI downloads of the book, and JPG downloads of the main catalogue images.

European Porcelain in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
European Porcelain in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Author: Jeffrey Munger

Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Published: 2018-05-09

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 1588396436

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Porcelain imported from China was the most highly coveted new medium in sixteenth- and early seventeenth-­century Europe. Its pure white color, translucency, and durability, as well as the delicacy of decoration, were impossible to achieve in European earthenware and stoneware. In response, European ceramic factories set out to discover the process of producing porcelain in the Chinese manner, with significant artistic, technical, and commercial ramifications for Britain and the Continent. Indeed, not only artisans, but kings, noble patrons, and entrepreneurs all joined in the quest, hoping to gain both prestige and profit from the enterprises they established. This beautifully illustrated volume showcases ninety works that span the late sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century and reflect the major currents of European porcelain production. Each work is illustrated with glorious new photography, accompanied by analysis and interpretation by one of the leading experts in European decorative arts. Among the wide range of porcelains selected are rare blue-and-white wares and figures from Italy, superb examples from the Meissen factory in Germany and the Sèvres factory in France, and ceramics produced by leading British eighteenth-century artisans. Taken together, they reveal why the Metropolitan Museum’s holdings in this field are among the finest in the world. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Verdana}

Treasures from the Oxus
Treasures from the Oxus

Author: Massimo Vidale

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-06-21

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1838609768

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In history, this grand arterial 1500-mile waterway was always seen as the natural frontier between the northern provinces of the Iranian empires and the outer Turanian lands. It was for centuries central to Achaemenid and later Persian power. But, as the author shows, it has a prehistory which goes very much further back: and a succession of skilled yet still elusive Bronze Age cultures flourished here well before the rise of Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BCE. This richly illustrated book explores the fascinating history, art and archaeology of the region, including its primal trade in silk and foodstuffs; the mineral wealth of the Oxus basin; its exotic myths and beliefs; and the converging tribes and peoples which led to a new stability, economic growth and urbanism. The volume contains 150 full-colour photographs of notable artefacts, including silver decorated vessels, inlaid stone pots, agate beads and 25 'Bactrian Princesses': remarkable statuettes made in chlorite and limestone. Most of these rare objects have never been seen, let alone published, before.