The twenty-five papers in this volume cover diverse aspects of the material culture of the late Roman, Byzantine and Medieval periods, with particular emphasis on the metalwork and enamel of these times. Individual papers include major reinterpretations of objects in the British Museum's Byzantine collections as well as essays devoted to the Museum's recent acquisitions in this field. The volume celebrates the retirement of David Buckton, for over twenty years the curator of the British Museum's Early Christian and Byzantine collections and the National Icon Collection.

The 17th congress of the Association Internationale pour l'Histoire du Verre (AIHV), held in Antwerp, Belgium from 4 to 8 September 2006, brought together scholars from all over the world specialized in the history of glass. AIHV is an international organisation whose membership spans the globe, from Los Angeles to Tokyo and from Helsinki to Adelaide. Since its creation 50 years ago, AIHV members have studied and reported on the extraordinary development of glass in all historical periods in the Annales of the AIHV. Next to containing numerous contributions on the use, manufacture and trade of glass in the Antique period, also the importance of glass in more recent historical periods, starting from the 15th century and ending in the 21st century, are dealt with in detail. Additionally, apart from contributions on stained glass, on glass decoration and the use of enamelling, a substantial series of papers dealing with the chemical analysis of glass form part of this proceedings volume. --Book Jacket.

The Salviati Collection of Venetian glass was presented to the Leland Stanford Junior Museum, California, at the end of the 19th century by Maurizio Camerino and Silvio Salviati. The gift, which encompasses virtually all the colors, styles and techniques marketed under the celebrated name, has been for the most part under wraps since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and is to be displayed for the first time. This collection forms the basis of this lavish book which accompanies its exhibition at the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, California. 245 pieces are illustrated and described in this the most comprehensive publication on Salviati glass yet published. An introductory essay explores the art of Venetian glass blowing, a tradition that goes back more than a thousand years.

Murano owes its worldwide fame to blown glass. The works created by the skillful hands of the island's master glassblowers have been exported East and West for centuries now, providing some of the most exquisite decorations for royal palaces and princely homes, and arousing the wonder and delight of travellers, poets and writers throughout the ages. Attilia Dorigato, Director of the Murano Glass Museum, traces all the key stages in the development of this age-old craft. Running from the Middle Ages to the heart of the contemporary world, her study focuses particular attention on the master glass-makers of the late part of the twentieth century. This up-to-date survey draws on an extraordinary range of photographs, some of them being published for the first time, and constitutes a fundamental work for anyone who wishes to understand the history of glass. Special illustrated appendices are included to reveal the techniques and secrets of this fascinating craft; what tools the master glassblowers use;

Features some of the best examples of 19th century Murano glass along with essays on Murano history.