The Lion Man is counted among the most significant discoveries in prehistoric archeology. The statuette - made from mammoth ivory from the Lone Valley near Ulm - is the largest known sculpture of Ice Age art. At nearly 40,000 years old, it is one of the oldest pieces of figurative art made by mankind.New excavations in the Stadel cave led archeologists to the surprising re-discovery of the original finding place of the statuette from the 1939 excavation- They were also able to retrieve numerous additional fragments from the figure. As a result, it was possible to further reassemble the Lion Man in the course of a complex restoration project. The project culminated in a special exhibition at the Ulmer Museum, which focuses on the Paleolithic statuette. This present companion volume also serves as the most current and comprehensive guide to Ice Age art and culture of the Swabian Jura.

A study of heroism in the myths of the world - an exploration of all the elements common to the great stories that have helped people make sense of their lives from the earliest times. It takes in Greek Apollo, Maori and Jewish rites, the Buddha, Wotan, and the bothers Grimm's Frog-King.

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.

"This new edition of MYTHOLOGIES is the first complete, authoritative English version of the French classic, Roland Barthes's most emblematic work"--