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A History of Jewellery 1100-1870 Paperback – December 1, 1989
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The history of jewelry has closely paralleled the history of mankind. Used as amulets to protect against harm and worn for ceremonial occasions, jewels also signaled wealth, power, and position. This engrossing scholarly study by a noted English antiquarian offers a splendid account of jewelry styles over a 700-year period — from the early Middle Ages and Gothic period, through the Renaissance as well as the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Drawing on a number of vital sources — museums and private collections, evidence given by portrait painters, surviving designs for jewels and others — the author gives us not only a comprehensive chronicle of the jewels themselves but also their relation to costume and fashion and their reflection of changing social values.
Enhancing the meticulously detailed narrative are 400 photographs and illustrations depicting, among scores of other pieces, a gold heart-shaped brooch inscribed with "You are my earthly joy," dating from the fifteenth century; a gold brooch set with sapphires, emeralds, and pearls; a diamond and topaz necklace (c. 1760); a gold padlock, set with cornelian and pearls (c. 1800); a gilt bronze clasp (c. 1200); the silver Loch Buy Brooch, set with rock crystals and pearls (sixteenth century), and a thirteenth-century reliquary pendant of the Holy Thorn.
For anyone interested in the long and fascinating history of handcrafted jewelry, here is a superb sourcebook of extremely rare ornamentation, a rich and detailed study that will also appeal to fashion and costume historians, collectors, and lovers of antiques.
- Print length448 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDover Publications
- Publication dateDecember 1, 1989
- Dimensions6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
- ISBN-100486261220
- ISBN-13978-0486261225
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Product details
- Publisher : Dover Publications (December 1, 1989)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 448 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0486261220
- ISBN-13 : 978-0486261225
- Item Weight : 1.55 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #290,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #56 in Antique & Collectible Jewelry (Books)
- #205 in Jewelry Craft (Books)
- #20,809 in Arts & Photography (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this book a useful reference for jewelry lovers. It provides useful information on types and materials of jewelry, as well as details on the history of jewelry. The illustrations and portraits are described as lavish and unique.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book a useful reference for jewelry enthusiasts. It provides an introduction to the subject, with helpful details on types and materials of jewelry. The book also provides valuable historical information.
"...Well-written, with lots of good tidbits, and one of the few resources for the study of the history of jewelry...." Read more
"Great reference book for any jewelry lover." Read more
"It is a good resource book, gives a lot of details on the actual HISTORY of jewellery...." Read more
"...pieces as well as occasional portraits, this book is very useful as a guide to types and materials for jewellery of the time period in question...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's images. They find the illustrations and portraits to be of good quality, some of which they'd never seen before. However, some readers feel there are too many words and not enough pictures.
"...Lavish illustrations and portraits, some of which I'd never seen anywhere else before." Read more
"...Showing a good number of images of existing pieces as well as occasional portraits, this book is very useful as a guide to types and materials for..." Read more
"too much text, very few pictures..." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2002It's rather more interested in post-Renaissance jewelry than anything else, devoting quite a bit of its pages to the super ornate stuff. There's a perfectly good reason for this, namely that pre-Renaissance jewelry frequently got melted down and recast. I still wish it'd devoted more time to that earlier stuff, since my interest is particularly in Renaissance-era jewelry. Still, it's a great introduction to the subject.
Well-written, with lots of good tidbits, and one of the few resources for the study of the history of jewelry. Lavish illustrations and portraits, some of which I'd never seen anywhere else before.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2017Great reference book for any jewelry lover.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2006It is a good resource book, gives a lot of details on the actual HISTORY of jewellery. But relying almost solely on text when writing of something as visual as jewellery is somewhat dry. For an (antique) jewellery aficionado, not so much interested in knowing all the historical facts but more in appreciating the variety, craftmanship, style and beauty of jewellery, this is a wrong book to own.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2019Why would you want a book on jewelry to be shown in black and white photos only???
- Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2017Was a gift for my mom. She loves this book! It took forever to arrive..
- Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2013As the book title says, it covers a range of around 700 years, during which the development of personal jewellery for the middle classes had its birth. Showing a good number of images of existing pieces as well as occasional portraits, this book is very useful as a guide to types and materials for jewellery of the time period in question.
As always with paperbacks, the size and quality of images is limited but useful as a pointer for more research on a particular piece or type.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2018Writer needs this. Romance of jewelry.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2018Not as much info on 15th/16th century as I'd like. But I can use some earlier pieces for inspiration for my historical reenacting.
Top reviews from other countries
- David kellyReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 18, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars A well illustrated history
Good book on the larger history of jewelry well illustrated.
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Carmen PMReviewed in Spain on July 4, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Es un must de la historia de la joyería
Es un must de la historia de la joyería, lo recomiendo a todo el que quiera profundizar en el tema.
- TANIA ZASLAWSKAReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
as expected, good
- Moby DickReviewed in Canada on July 12, 2013
3.0 out of 5 stars lavish illustrations in BLACK AND WHITE
This book is filled with information and illustrations but please, reviewers, add that those illustrations are in BLACK AND WHITE, at least they were in my copy and that is one of the reasons that I returned it under amazon's generous policy.
- IngerReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 18, 2013
3.0 out of 5 stars A History of Jewellery
I was disappointed because all photos were black/white
had I known that well then I would not have bought it