Ancient & Classical

A HISTORY OF ROMAN ART The new edition of the leading textbook on Roman art, updated with new images and expanded geographic and cultural scope A History of Roman Art is an expansive survey of the painting, mosaic, sculpture, decorative arts, and...

Tool marks and joins, Cycladic and Daedalic styles, and kouroi and kanephoroi are among the many terms pertaining to the study of classical stone sculpture that are succinctly described in this latest addition to the "Looking At" series. Presented in...

The main themes of this volume are the identification of 'visions', 'messages', and 'meanings' in various facets of Byzantine culture and the possible differences in the perception of these visions, messages and meanings as seen by their original...

Surveying the content and character of early Christian iconography from the third to the sixth century CE, this substantially revised and updated new edition of Understanding Early Christian Art makes the critical tools of art historians accessible to...

Theater, spectacle, and performance played significant roles in the political and social structure of the Roman Empire, which was diverse in population and language. A wide and varied range of entertainment was available to a Roman audience: the...

Jewelry was worn by ancient Egyptians at every level of society and, like their modern descendants, they prized it for its aesthetic value, as a way to adorn and beautify the body. It was also a conspicuous signifier of wealth, status, and power. But...

This richly illustrated, four-colour textbook introduces the art and archaeology of ancient Greece, from the Bronze Age through to the Roman conquest. Suitable for students with no prior knowledge of ancient art, this textbook reviews the main objects...

The artistic genius of Athens in the 5th century BC reached its peak in the sculpted marble reliefs of the Parthenon Frieze. The original composition of the Frieze and its precise meaning have long been the subject of lively debate. Designed by Phidias...

Ur, one of the world's first cities, was highly important politically and economically around 2600 - 2500 BC when the Sumerian rulers of the city were buried in tombs filled with ornate, valuable objects and with evidence of elaborate rituals and human...

Villa Albani Torlonia, with its collections, the Italian garden, and the hemicycle of the Kaffeehaus, is a sublime testimony of that particular antiquarian taste which came to the fore in the mid-eighteenth century, that for which Rome became a favourite...

Chronicling the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and journeying from the Piazza San Marco to the villas of the Veneto, this vivid and authoritative survey of architecture, sculpture, and painting offers a rich perspective on the history and artistic...

An expert in Pompeian studies and a qualified tourist guide since 2005, Professor De Albentiis has been Professor of Style, History of Art and Costume at the Pietro Vannucci Academy of Fine Arts, which in 2003 awarded him the title of Honorary...

The collection of Joelle and Pierre Clement includes Australian painters whose work draws on Aboriginal culture and traditions. This catalog by Kunsthaus Zug features 80 works by 50 artists from the collection, as well as paintings by Emily Kame...

The first study devoted to classical art's vital creative impact on the work of the Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens. For the great Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the classical past afforded lifelong creative stimulus and the camaraderie of humanist...

A radical re-examination of 2,500 years of European art, deconstructing and demystifying its long history from ancient to present How has art evolved from the pursuit of the 'ideal' human form to a black square on a white canvas? Why is a banana...

In Bathing in the Roman World, Fikret Yegul examines the social and cultural aspects of one of the key Roman institutions. Guiding the reader through the customs, rituals, and activities associated with public bathing, Yegul traces the origins and...

Featuring over 450 archival photographs and line drawings, Chinese Dress traces the evolution of Chinese clothing from court and formal costumes to the everyday fashions of twenty-first century China.Author Valery Garrett skillfully weaves the story of...

The Gayer-Anderson Cat has been one of the most admired objects at the British Museum since its arrival in 1947. This book presents a detailed description of the cat and a discussion of its possible meaning and role in ancient times. Surprising new finds...

In 1764, Johann Joachim Winckelmann published a key early instance of art-historical thinking, his "Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums", here translated into English for the first time. Dazzled by the sensuous and plastic beauty of recently excavated...

This book reveals the rewards of exploring the relationship between art and religion in the first millennium, and the particular problems of comparing the visual cultures of different emergent and established religions of the period in Eurasia -...

From the bestselling author of SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, the fascinating story of how images of Roman autocrats have influenced art, culture, and the representation of power for more than 2,000 yearsWhat does the face of power look like? Who gets...

In this absorbing illustrated history, Loren Partridge takes the reader on an insightful tour of Renaissance Florence and sheds new light on its celebrated art and culture by examining the city's great architectural and artistic achievements in their...

Herculaneum, located on the picturesque Bay of Naples, was buried in the same volcanic eruption as its larger neighbour, Pompeii. But while Pompeii was covered by a relatively shallow layer of loose volcanic ash, Herculaneum was submerged in deep flows...

An account of the development of Greek art in the Classical period (about 480-320 BC) which places particular emphasis on the meaning and content of Greek sculpture, architecture and painting. Professor Pollitt reminds us that the visual arts in Greece,...

The Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum, the model for the Getty Villa in Malibu, is one of the world's earliest systematically investigated archaeological sites. Buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, the Villa dei Papiri was discovered in 1750...

A fascinating, richly illustrated study of the role and significance of ancient statues in Egyptian history and beliefWhy do ancient Egyptian statues so often have their noses, hands, or genitals broken? Although the Late Antiquity period appears to have...

How remarkable changes in ancient Greek pottery reveal the transformation of classical Greek culture Why did soldiers stop fighting, athletes stop competing, and lovers stop having graphic sex in classical Greek art? The scenes depicted on Athenian...

How much do we really know about Ancient Egypt? The pharaohs and pyramids are familiar history fodder, but what about the farmers, the soldiers, the laborers, and the families that made up the vast majority of this much mythologized civilization? With a...

'The best reason to study Hellenistic art is for its own sake' writes Professor Pollitt in the Preface to Art in the Hellenistic Age. 'But', he continues, 'I would suggest that there is an additional quality that should make the art of the Hellenistic...

In Bathing in the Roman World, Fikret Yegul examines the social and cultural aspects of one of the key Roman institutions. Guiding the reader through the customs, rituals, and activities associated with public bathing, Yegul traces the origins and...

The character of Roman art history has changed in recent years. More than ever before, it is concerned with the role of art in ancient society, including the functions that it served and the values and assumptions that it reflects. At the same time,...

Near the end of his life, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-78) created three colossal candelabra mainly from fragments of sculpture excavated near the Villa Hadriana in Tivoli, two of which are now in the Ashmolean Museum, and one in the Louvre. Although...

The Ashmolean Museum is fortunate in having the most comprehensive British collection of the art of the Indian subcontinent outside London. Especially strong in sculpture, this rich representation of Indian art from prehistory to the twentieth century...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780198520818Author Peter StewartFormat PaperbackImprint Oxford University PressPublisher Oxford University PressWeight(grams) 270gDimensions(mm) 235mm *...

The first chapters outline important themes and issues, including locations and their meanings, defining features of sanctuaries, the relationship between structure and ritual, political as well as religious functions, transformations over time, and the...

What can modern art have to do with ancient sculpture? Surely the excitement of modern art lies in its utter repudiation of classical example? Elizabeth Prettejohn's important and revisionist new book argues otherwise: that ancient sculpture and modern...

A timely and definitive exploration of the art and culture of the ancient civilizations situated between Rome and the Middle East that presents a new way of understanding the region's influential heritage This publication examines the art and...

The Luxor Temple of Amun-Re, built to commemorate the divine power of the pharaohs, is one of the iconic monuments of New Kingdom Egypt. In the 4th century C.E., the Roman Imperial government, capitalizing on the site's earlier significance, converted...

This book, first published in 1991, is a general history of Roman painting written specifically for English-language readers. Large numbers of wall-paintings have survived from the Roman world, and particularly from Rome itself and from the cities of...

From about 2000 BCE onward, Egypt served as an important nexus for cultural exchange in the eastern Mediterranean, importing and exporting not just wares but also new artistic techniques and styles. Egyptian, Greek, and Roman craftsmen imitated one...