More than 30 historic mosaics feature works by Gaudí from Barcelona's Park Güell plus ancient Roman and Islamic art. Sources include synagogues, Christian basilicas, and mosques in Tunis, Ravenna, Venice, and Jerusalem.

A comprehensive and informed analysis explores the startlingly diverse and sophisticated fine arts in the Middle Ages. Materials, Methods, and Masterpieces of Medieval Art provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the work done by artists in western Europe during the Middle Ages. Art historian Janetta Rebold Benton uses examples such as the Book of Kells, Bury Saint Edmunds Cross, and the Bayeux Tapestry, and the work of artists such as Jan van Eyck and Giotto to explore the various media available to medieval artists and the ways in which those media were used to create a stunning array of masterworks. Although the visual arts of the Middle Ages were extremely colorful, today much of that color has diminished or disappeared, the pigments and threads faded, the gold abraded, the silver tarnished. Materials, Methods, and Masterpieces of Medieval Art allows these works to sparkle once more.

The history of the revival of mosaic glass in Italy.

Between the second and the sixth centuries of the common era, elaborate mosaics were designed and created to pave the floors of town homes and rural estates of the Roman settlements in North Africa. These stunning mosaics were especially widespread in the colony of Africa Proconsularis, modern-day Tunisia, and covered a wide range of subject matter: from scenes of daily life and classical mythology, to abstract floral and geometric designs of rare vibrancy and complexity. A distinctive African style emerged, whose influence would extend throughout the Mediterranean basin and beyond. This catalogue is being published to coincide with an exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa from October 26, 2006, to April 30, 2007--the first major exhibition in the United States solely devoted to ancient mosaics. The twenty-seven mosaics in the exhibition come from Tunisia's leading museums, including the Bardo Museum in Tunis, the Sousse Museum and the El Jem Museum. Stories in Stone is structured around four principal themes--Nature, Theater and Spectacle, Myths and Gods, and Technique--and includes extensive material on mosaic conservation. In addition to color plates of all objects in the exhibit, this catalogue includes nine richly illustrated essays that illuminate the historical background of mosaic art, trace the development of principal themes, and examine the conservation of mosaics both in the museum setting and in situ. Contributors include Taher Ghalia, director of the Bardo Museum; Mongi Ennaifer, minister of cultural affairs, Tunisia; Thomas Roby, senior project specialist, Getty Conservation Institute; and Jerry Podany, head of antiquities conservation, J. Paul Getty Museum.

The volume offers a timely (re-)appraisal of Seleukid cultural dynamics. While the engagement of Seleukid kings with local populations and the issue of “Hellenization” are still debated, a movement away from the Greco-centric approach to the study of the sources has gained pace. Increasingly textual sources are read alongside archaeological and numismatic evidence, and relevant near-eastern records are consulted. Our study of Seleukid kingship adheres to two game-changing principles: 1. We are not interested in judging the Seleukids as “strong” or “weak” whether in their interactions with other Hellenistic kingdoms or with the populations they ruled. 2. While appreciating the value of the social imaginaries approach (Stavrianopoulou, 2013), we argue that the use of ethnic identity in antiquity remains problematic. Through a pluralistic approach, in line with the complex cultural considerations that informed Seleukid royal agendas, we examine the concept of kingship and its gender aspects; tensions between centre and periphery; the level of “acculturation” intended and achieved under the Seleukids; the Seleukid-Ptolemaic interrelations. As rulers of a multi-cultural empire, the Seleukids were deeply aware of cultural politics.

The Story of Civilization, Volume IV: A history of medieval civilization—Christian, Islamic, and Judaic—from Constantine to Dante: A.D. 325-1300. This is the fourth volume of the classic, Pulitzer Prize-winning series.

Steeped in religious imagery, this glorious collection spotlights over 60 priceless examples of ancient tile art featuring images of Christ, apostles such as Bartholomew, Peter, and Paul, and numerous biblical scenes.