This lovely volume illustrates in color superb examples of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman jewelry. Major types of Greek and Etruscan jewelry from the seventh to the first centuries B.C. are well represented, along with a few Roman imperial works. In exquisite miniature, these ornaments reflect the stylistic history of more monumental art: they are sculptures on a small scale. Underneath the shining splendor these gold objects -- works originally meant to be worn by men and women as a sign of wealth and power in life -- lies a more fundamental meaning. Gold, a mysterious power, was a means for people to communicate with the gods who rule human life. The skill of the ancient goldsmith has never been equaled. Although the techniques used are for the most part understood, the virtuosity and intricacy of manufacture have vet to be duplicated.

During the nineteenth century in Rome, three generations of the Castellani family created what they called “Italian archaeological jewelry,” which was inspired by the precious Etruscan, Roman, Greek, and Byzantine antiquities being excavated at the time. The Castellani jewelry consisted of finely wrought gold that was often combined with delicate and colorful mosaics, carved gemstones, or enamel. This magnificent book is the first to display and discuss the jewelry and the family behind it. International scholars discuss the life and work of the Castellani, revealing the wide-ranging aspects of the family’s artistic and cultural activities. They describe the making and marketing of the jewelry, the survey collection of all periods of Italian jewelry on display in the Castellani’s palatial store, and the Castellani’s activities in the trade of antiquities, as they sponsored excavations, and restored, dealt, and exhibited antiques. They also recount the family’s involvement in the cultural and political life of their city and country.

In recent years, the Dallas Museum of Art has expanded its collection of South Asian art from a small number of Indian temple sculptures to nearly 500 works, including Indian Hindu and Buddhist sculptures, Himalayan Buddhist bronze sculptures and ritual objects, artwork from Southeast Asia, and decorative arts from India's Mughal period. Artworks in the collection have origins from the former Ottoman empire to Java, and architectural pieces suggest the grandeur of buildings in the Indian tradition. This volume details the cultural and artistic significance of more than 140 featured works, which range from Tibetan thangkas and Indian miniature paintings to stone sculptures and bronzes. Relating these works to one another through interconnecting narratives and cross-references, scholars and curators provide a broad cultural history of the region. Distributed for the Dallas Museum of Art

This volume--the first serious book in English on Etruscan art--was hailed for its broad scope, thorough knowledge, and clear exposition when it was published almost twenty years ago. Now brought back into print with an updated bibliography and bibliographical essay by Francesca R. Serra Ridgway, it remains an essential introduction for anyone interested in ancient art, history, and civilization. Otto Brendel's exploration of the art, culture, and society of Etruria takes us through its four main periods of creativity: the Villanovan and Orientalizing era, the Archaic era, the Classical era, and the Hellenistic era, when Etruscan art became extinct. According to Brendel, the Etruscans were deeply influenced by Greek styles but used Greek forms and concepts to further their own purposes. Etruscan art is a private art, aristocratic and luxurious but centered in the life of the family and a continuing life in the tomb. Many of the art forms and objects discussed--ceramics, metalware, jewelry, sculpture, and wall painting--are known to us through the discovery of tombs. Most of these objects had a clearly defined function but were also designed, with a high degree of quality and craftsmanship, to be decorative. The beautiful art of the Etruscans, illustrated and explained in this book, sheds much light on a people about whom we know little.

Jewish Women: Between Conformity and Agency examines the concepts of gender and sexuality through the primary lens of visual and material culture from antiquity through to the present day. The backbone of this transhistorical and transcontextual study is the question of Jewish women’s agency in four different geographical, chronological, and methodological contexts, beginning with women’s dress codes in Roman-Byzantine Syro-Palestine, continuing with rituals of purity in medieval Ashkenaz, worship in papal Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin, and ending with marriage and divorce in Israeli film. Each of these explorations is interested in creating a dialogue between the patriarchal legacy of the traditional texts and the chronologically corresponding visual and material culture. The author challenges traditional approaches to the study of Jewish culture by employing tools from art history, archaeology, and film and media studies. In each of these different contexts, there is ample evidence that women—despite persistent overall structural discrimination—have found ways to challenge male constructs of gender norms. Ultimately, these examples from past and present times highlight women’s eminence in shaping Jewish history and culture. Bringing a new interdisciplinary lens to the study of the history of gender and sexuality, the book will be of interest to students and researchers of Jewish history and culture, art history, archaeology, and film studies.

Lavish photography and groundbreaking new texts unlock the magic of the island cultures of Indonesia, Malaysia and East Timor. Eyes of the Ancestors takes an in-depth look at the Dallas Museum of Art's world-renowned collection of artworks from Island Southeast Asia. Beautiful photography and essays by distinguished international scholars unlock the magic of the island cultures of this region. Leading cultural anthropologist Dr. Reimar Schefold introduces these texts, which investigate various indigenous art forms from a fresh art-historical perspective. They describe the contexts, purposes, and aesthetic influences of a range of objects, from intricately woven sacred and ceremonial textiles to carved ancestor figures. Also featured are gold and metalwork designs as well as weaponry and jewelry, most dating back more than a hundred years. A 19th-century mouth mask in the collection, from the Leti Islands, is one of the only four known to be in existence. This wooden mask, carved in the shape of a rooster's head, was used in ritual dances. Other spectacular examples from the collection likewise reflect the beliefs and practices of these island peoples.