The Boxford Mosaic has been described as the most spectacular and innovative Roman mosaic ever found in Britain. Yet it lay hidden beneath a Berkshire field for some 1,600 years until it was fully uncovered in the Summer of 2019. Dating from around 350 AD and set amid the ruins of a villa, the mosaic depicts tales of famous heroes from Greek mythology. Hercules slays the half-man, half-horse Centaur. Pelops wins the hand of a king's daughter by sabotaging the wheel linchpin of his racing chariot. And the handsome Bellerophon kills the fire-breathing Chimaera monster with the help of his flying horse Pegasus - a legend that became our very own St George and the Dragon. The full description of this artistic masterpiece and its excavation, by local enthusiasts working under professional supervision, is told here by the three who played key roles in the operation. JOY APPLETON is Chairwoman of the Boxford History Project. MATT NICHOL is a leading archaeologist with Cotswold Archaeology. ANTHONY BEESON is one of the UK's leading authorities on mosaics and Roman and Greek architecture. He is also the archivist of the Association for Roman Archaeology.

The most pervasive gods in ancient Rome had no traditional mythology attached to them, nor was their worship organized by elites. Throughout the Roman world, neighborhood street corners, farm boundaries, and household hearths featured small shrines to the beloved lares, a pair of cheerful little dancing gods. These shrines were maintained primarily by ordinary Romans, and often by slaves and freedmen, to whom the lares cult provided a unique public leadership role. In this comprehensive and richly illustrated book, the first to focus on the lares, Harriet Flower offers a strikingly original account of these gods and a new way of understanding the lived experience of everyday Roman religion. Weaving together a wide range of evidence, Flower sets forth a new interpretation of the much-disputed nature of the lares. She makes the case that they are not spirits of the dead, as many have argued, but rather benevolent protectors--gods of place, especially the household and the neighborhood, and of travel. She examines the rituals honoring the lares, their cult sites, and their iconography, as well as the meaning of the snakes often depicted alongside lares in paintings of gardens. She also looks at Compitalia, a popular midwinter neighborhood festival in honor of the lares, and describes how its politics played a key role in Rome's increasing violence in the 60s and 50s BC, as well as in the efforts of Augustus to reach out to ordinary people living in the city's local neighborhoods. A reconsideration of seemingly humble gods that were central to the religious world of the Romans, this is also the first major account of the full range of lares worship in the homes, neighborhoods, and temples of ancient Rome.

Glass as an art form has an ancient tradition; the archaeological record suggests that artisans in Egypt and Mesopotamia were fabricating glass vessels and ornaments during the fourth millennium BCE. Its durable nature, range of colours, malleability, and most of all, its optical transparency are qualities that have made glass a premiere art medium. Over a lifetime, Frederick Birkhill has explored the unique qualities of glass and the numerous techniques and intricacies of working with it. The result of these decades of study is a body of work that is extraordinary in scope, technical expertise, and sheer virtuosity. This book, from The Artist Book Foundation honours this gifted artist. From his time in England at Burleighfield House, the studio of stained-glass artist Patrick Reyntiens, to his unprecedented visit to Lauscha, the village in East Germany famous for both its art and scientific glass production, and his subsequent career as an explorer, teacher, and master of the glass arts, Birkhill has devoted himself to furthering the appreciation of the medium and sharing his vast experience with colleagues, collectors, and students. His works appear in numerous museum collections, including those of The Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of Arts and Design, the Mint Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Smithsonian. Complementing the scholarly contributions by authors with significant backgrounds in the glass arts, the book features in its extensive plate section the lavish photography of Henry Leutwyler, which offers readers an opportunity to examine the complex details and artistic mastery of Birkhill's oeuvre. In addition, the monograph offers a glossary of glass-art terms, a detailed chronology of the artist's life, his extensive exhibition history, and a list of the numerous awards he has received. For those who are passionate about the glass arts, this monograph will be a feast for the eyes.

The total number of extant Apulian red-figured vases cannot fall far short of 10,000, and the present work (the first of two volumes) is the first attempt to survey the history and development of the fabric as a whole, from its beginnings in the later fifth century BC to its end around 300. It does not attempt to give a complete corpus, but the authors have tried to include all the more significant workshops and to give a representative selection of the minor pieces. Many Apulian vases display a very high level of technical and artistic competence, and the representations upon them are often of remarkable interest, not only for their illustrations of mythological and theatrical themes but also for the light they shed upon the daily life, customs, and religious beliefs of the Greek colonists and native inhabitants of Apulia.

A major contribution to our knowledge of the Worcester porcelain factory in its early years, based on a single large and elaborate dinner service commissioned by an Irish family. 2020 Winner of the American Ceramic Circle Book Award The early years of the famous Worcester porcelain factory established by Dr Wall have always been a little mysterious, owing to the destruction of the records of thebusiness for this period. Alec Cobbe's discovery of family papers listing the purchases over a period of years of a particularly beautiful and ornate table set have enabled him to give a vivid glimpse of how the factory interacted with its customers. He is able to describe the commissioning of perhaps the largest service of first period Worcester porcelain on record by Thomas and Lady Betty Cobbe for Newbridge House Co. Dublin. It was bought in stages from 1763 as the family travelled from Dublin to Bath each year, stopping at Worcester en route, as other Irish gentry did. The Cobbe service, uniquely in the context of British porcelain, was accompanied by a full set of Irish silver and steel cutlery fitted with Worcester porcelain handles matching the service. The various pieces of porcelain and their historical context are described as well as their painted decoration, and the sources for it. The later history of the service is outlined and its gradual dispersal in the nineteenth century, culminating in a final sale of the remaining pieces lot by lot in a Christie's sale in 1920. This book celebrates Cobbe's reassembly of more than 160 pieces of the original service over a period of more than thirty years and their return to Newbridge following their exhibition in the State Apartments at Dublin Castle. Overall, the book gives an important insight into Irish social life and patronage in the mid-eighteenth century. Alec Cobbe was born in Ireland and still resides in Newbridge House, Co. Dublin, where his ancestors have lived since it was built in the middle of the eighteenth century. He practises as an artist and designer. As a passionate collector, he added to his family's historic collections and assembled the world's largest group of composer-owned keyboard instruments.

This book, which accompanies an exhibition at the Fondation Baur, explores the intriguing story of porcelain glaze at the end of the 18th century in China, in the 19th century in France, and in the work of two 20th century ceramic artists. Part one investigates the development of opaque glazes for use on porcelain and copper during the 18th century in work from three collections: Alfred Baur's vast collection of imperial ceramics; the Canton glazes of the Zubov Foundation; and export porcelain from the Ariana Museum in Geneva. The second part begins in France, in the 19th century, at the Sevres factory, tracing the various journeys to China to bring back samples of colour, analyse them chemically, and tirelessly attempt to reproduce them. The catalogue ends in the present, with the experiments conducted by the American-born artist Fance Franck (1927-2008) on "sacrificial red" and the work on colour carried out by the Austrian ceramist Thomas Bohle. Text in English and French.

Glass casting is an exciting and versatile process involving chunks of molten glass melted into a mould, where it solidifies. This practical book explains the glass casting process, from the initial search for inspiration through to simple and then more complex casting. With step-by-step instructions and supporting photographs, it is an accessible and thorough account of this challenging and beautiful process. Topics covered include: advice on kilns and studio equipment; step-by-step projects in open casting, lost-wax casting, part-mould making, burn-out moulds and core casting; ideas for experimentation to increase the scale of your work, explore surface pattern and use other materials; instruction on de-moulding and finishing, and further tips on reusing materials in the studio.

More than a dozen patterns for rectangular panel-style lamps feature easy-to-replicate continuous designs. Some patterns include foil inlays; all feature beautiful but not overly detailed designs that ensure successful completion.

A highly detailed look at the English country house interior, offering unprecedented access to England's finest rooms. In this splendid book, renowned historian Jeremy Musson explores the interiors and decoration of the great country houses of England, offering a brilliantly detailed presentation of the epitome of style in each period of the country house, including the great Jacobean manor house, the Georgian mansion, and the Gothic Revival castle. For the first time, houses known worldwide for their exquisite architecture and decoration--including Wilton, Chatsworth, and Castle Howard--are seen in unprecedented detail. With intimate views of fabric, gilding, carving, and furnishings, the book will be a source of inspiration to interior designers, architects, and home owners, and a must-have for anglophiles and historic house enthusiasts.
The fifteen houses included represent the key periods in the history of English country house decoration and cover the major interior fashions and styles. Stunning new color photographs by Paul Barker-who was given unparalleled access to the houses-offer readers new insights into the enduring English country house style. Supplementing these are unique black-and-white images from the archive of the esteemed "Country Life "magazine.
Among the aspects of these that the book covers are: paneling, textile hangings (silks to cut velvet), mural painting, plasterwork, stone carving, gilding, curtains, pelmets, heraldic decoration, classical imagery, early upholstered furniture, furniture designed by Thomas Chippendale, carved chimney-pieces, lass, use of sculpture, tapestry, carpets, picture hanging, collecting of art and antiques, impact of Grand Tour taste, silver, use of marble, different woods, the importance of mirror glass, boulle work, English Baroque style, Palladian style, neo-Classical style, rooms designed by Robert Adam, Regency, Gothic Revival taste, Baronial style, French 18th century style, and room types such as staircases, libraries, dining rooms, parlors, bedrooms, picture galleries, entrance halls and sculpture galleries.
Houses covered include: Hatfield - early 1600s (Jacobean); Wilton - 1630/40s (Inigo Jones); Boughton - 1680/90s (inspired by Versailles); Chatsworth -1690/early 1700s (Baroque); Castle Howard - early 1700s (Vanbrugh); Houghton - 1720s (Kent); Holkham - 1730s-50s (Palladian); Syon Park - 1760s (Adam); Harewood - 1760s/70s (neo-Classical); Goodwood - 1790s/1800s (neo-Classical/Regency); Regency at Chatsworth/Wilton/C Howard etc - 1820/30s; Waddesdon Manor - 1870/80ss (French Chateau style); Arundel Castle -1880s/90s (Gothic Revival); Berkeley Castle -
1920/30s (period recreations and antique collections); Parham House - 1920s/30s (period restorations and antique collections). The range is from the early 17th century to present day, drawn from the authenticated interiors of fifteen great country houses, almost all still in private hands and occupied as private residences still today. The book shows work by twentieth-century designers who have helped evolve the country house look, including Nancy Lancaster, David Hicks, Colefax & Fowler, and David Mlinaric

The history of ceramics is rooted in the history of mankind. Jamaican Ceramics: A Historical and Contemporary Survey is a comprehensive examination of the development of ceramics from pre-history to the present day. This visually rich, exciting and authoritative book is an unprecedented survey which sheds light on the fascinating historical and modern contemporary Jamaican ceramics. Norma Rodney Harrack, herself a practicing ceramic artist, offers an expert's insight and provides a valuable resource to ceramists, students, collectors, enthusiasts and users of ceramics. The chapters each focus on key thematic areas - from early ceramic history to the influence of European ceramic practices to the syncreticism and continuity of African Jamaican pottery traditions - with full discussions on how the canon of Jamaican ceramics has developed over centuries. Harrack's many years of teaching and investigation have guided much of the primary research for this project.

Born in 1965 about 100 kilometres from the former imperial porcelain factories of Jingdezhen in China, Bai Ming is a multi-facetted visual artist. A professor and lecturer, he is director of the Department of Ceramics at the Academy of Art and Design of Qinghua University in Beijing, and of the Shangyu Celadon International Art Centre of Contemporary Ceramics. He also heads two workshops, where he boldly mixes ancestral techniques, traditions and practices with those of international contemporary art. The delicacy of his technique in ceramics, painting and lacquer has revitalised Chinese porcelain, freeing it from its archaic forms. His creations have won major Chinese awards and are recognised by collectors around the world. Christine Shimizu, curator of the exhibition devoted to the artist at the Keramis Centre in Belgium, brings together various authors in this book: Mael Bellec, Antoinette Fay-Halle, Jean-Francois Fouilhoux, Catherine Noppe and Ludovic Recchia. All testify, each in their own way, to their perception of Bai Ming's multifaceted work. The book follows an exhibition that will take place at Keramis from 16 November 2019 to 15 March 2020. Text in English and French.

This is the first catalogue to appear in the newly launched American Corpus Vitrearum series. The collections in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio include almost 200 panels of stained glass. The largest group is to be found in the Detroit Institute of Art; others are in the University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor; the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in Detroit; the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House and Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum. In Ohio, the Cleveland Museum of Art owns interesting panels, as does the Toledo Museum of Art. The glass in the Art Institue in Chicago is also catalogued here. The volumes offer the essential 'state of the question' of glass conservation as well as comprehensive contextual, iconographic and stylistic descriptions. The introduction discusses the nature of stained glass, its function as an art-form, as monumental art, and its relationship to architecture and other art-forms of the medieval and Renaissance periods. The authors touch particularly on cross-disciplinary issues, since the nature of the American glass collections is able to yield fascinating information on the history of changing taste, the social status of the collectors, thier attitudes towards religion, and the development of public museums in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Every panel catalogued is also fully illustrated, generally with several details, and frequently with comparative examples. This two-volume catalogue lists the panels of stained glass in the collections of the Midwest States and offers the essential 'state of the question'of glass conservation as well as comprehensive contextual, iconographic and stylistic descriptions.

This book explores the persona of the artist in Archaic and Classical Greek art and literature. Guy Hedreen argues that artistic subjectivity, first expressed in Athenian vase-painting of the sixth century BCE and intensively explored by Euphronios, developed alongside a self-consciously constructed persona of the poet. He explains how poets like Archilochos and Hipponax identified with the wily Homeric character of Odysseus as a prototype of the successful narrator, and how the lame yet resourceful artist-god Hephaistos is emulated by Archaic vase-painters such as Kleitias. In lyric poetry and pictorial art, Hedreen traces a widespread conception of the artist or poet as socially marginal, and sometimes physically imperfect, but rhetorically clever, technically peerless, and a master of fiction. Bringing together in a sustained analysis the roots of subjectivity across media, this book offers a new way of studying the relationship between poetry and art in ancient Greece.

Apocalypse reproduces the Apocalypse Cycle of the Great East Window of York Minster in its entirety and in full colour for the very first time. Stunning photography presents each panel in detail, accompanied by expert commentary. The book is both a testament to the remarkable combination of skill, scholarship and cutting-edge technology that has gone into the conservation of the window, and an important study of the significance of the Apocalypse narrative both in the early 15th century and today.

This book presents a wealth of images that will spark the imagination of all who see them. There are times when all artists struggle for inspiration. This can be particularly true when you try to create patterns, textures and designs with which to decorate your work. In this book, Carolyn Genders presents a wealth of images - of both natural and manmade objects - that will spark your imagination as soon as you see them. The book also highlights how these images can be visually abstracted, refined and developed to create other beautiful patterns, designs and forms. The result is not only a useful guide to how the creative process works but also a visually glorious sourcebook of images. This book is a must for all - whatever field you work in and whether you are an amateur or a professional artist.

A new pottery tradition has been developing along the border of northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Despite the fact that this region is not yet an established destination for pottery collectors, Michiana potters are committed to pursuing their craft thanks to the presence of a community of like-minded artists. The Michiana Potters, an ethnographic exploration of the lives and art of these potters, examines the communal traditions and aesthetics that have developed in this region. Author Meredith A. E. McGriff identifies several shared methods and styles, such as a preference for wood-fired wares, glossy glaze surfaces, cooler colors, the dripping or layering of glazes on ceramics that are not wood-fired, the handcrafting of useful wares as opposed to sculptural work, and a tendency to borrow forms and decorative effects from other regional artists. In addition to demonstrating a methodology that can be applied to studies of other emergent regional traditions, McGriff concludes that these styles and methods form a communal bond that inextricably links the processes of creating and sharing pottery in Michiana.

This book covers the development of mosaics in Britain from the invasion to the end of Roman Britain. The technical side of the art form is covered as well as prefabrication. It covers those mosaics based in towns as well as more rural locations. Many of the mosaics have been lost but are recorded in coloured engravings. The author has a large collection of illustrations of both existing and lost mosaic pavements. The uniqueness of some British depictions of such well known characters as Orpheus are also explored here. Reconstructions by the author of some sections of figured mosaics based on examples found elsewhere in the empire are included. The author's recent work on the newly discovered Boxford mosaic, that is the most important mosaic found in Britain for over 50 years, is explored here for the first time. Anthony Beeson is the former archivist of the Association for the Study and Preservation of Roman Mosaics, a member of the board of trustees of the Association for Roman Archaeology and The Roman Baths Foundation, a prolific writer of papers on Roman art and architecture and has lectured on the subject of Roman mosaics.

Clay is an exciting material that has been used to make both practical and decorative items since prehistoric times. With this practical guidebook, learn all the skills you need to start creating your own beautiful ceramics. Step-by-step photographs and clear instructions will guide you through the core techniques, including pinching and coiling and throwing and trimming. Discover inspirational projects as your skills progress, from simple coiled vases with painted decoration to marbled clay boxes with transparent glazes. Learn how to decorate and fire your clay vessels with myriad textures, using methods such as inlays, slips, sgraffito, feathering, burnishing and resist. Following the impressive projects inside, you can put your new-found skills into practice and develop your creativity.

This book explores the persona of the artist in Archaic and Classical Greek art and literature. Guy Hedreen argues that artistic subjectivity, first expressed in Athenian vase-painting of the sixth century BCE and intensively explored by Euphronios, developed alongside a self-consciously constructed persona of the poet. He explains how poets like Archilochos and Hipponax identified with the wily Homeric character of Odysseus as a prototype of the successful narrator, and how the lame yet resourceful artist-god Hephaistos is emulated by Archaic vase-painters such as Kleitias. In lyric poetry and pictorial art, Hedreen traces a widespread conception of the artist or poet as socially marginal, and sometimes physically imperfect, but rhetorically clever, technically peerless, and a master of fiction. Bringing together in a sustained analysis the roots of subjectivity across media, this book offers a new way of studying the relationship between poetry and art in ancient Greece.

In this beautifully designed and illustrated volume, leading craft scholars, curators and artists come together to assess the post-War history and contemporary flourishing of craft in America. Their critical gaze encompasses craft practice by artists, professional makers, and amateurs; crafting as it takes place in the studio and in the domestic space, and as it is exhibited in museums and galleries; craft that uses materials and crafting in the digital arena, and critical issues confronting craft such as industry, education and digitization.

Saints and Spectacle examines the origins and reception of the Middle Byzantine program of mosaic decoration. This complex and colorful system of images covers the walls and vaults of churches with figures and compositions seen against a dazzling gold ground. The surviving eleventh-century churches with their wall and vault mosaics largely intact, Hosios Loukas, Nea Moni and Daphni in Greece, pose the challenge of how, when and where this complex and gloriously conceived system was created. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Connor explores the urban culture and context of church-building in Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, during the century following the end of Iconoclasm, of around 843 to 950. The application of an innovative frame of reference, through ritual studies, helps recreate the likely scenario in which the medium of mosaics attained its highest potential, in the mosaiced Byzantine church. For mosaics were enlisted to convey a religious and political message that was too nuanced to be expressed in any other way. At a time of revival of learning and the arts, and development of ceremonial practices, the Byzantine emperor and patriarch were united in creating a solution to the problem of consolidating the Greek Orthodox Byzantine Empire. It was through promoting a vision of the unchallengeable authority residing in God and his earthly representative, the emperor. The beliefs and processional practices affirming the protective role of the saints in which the entire city participated, were critical to the reception of this vision by the populace as well as the court. Mosaics were a luxury medium that was ideally situated aesthetically to convey a message at a particularly important historical moment-a brilliant solution to a problem that was to subtly unite an empire for centuries to come. Supported by a wealth of testimony from literary sources, Saints and Spectacle brings the Middle Byzantine church to life as the witness to a compelling and fascinating drama.

Jun Kaneko, born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1942 and based in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1986, is revered for his role in establishing modern ceramic art, yet he has been equally prolific in a range of other media. This book offers an entirely new and detailed survey and analysis of nearly six decades of Kaneko's work in ceramics, drawing, painting, installation art, and opera design. Tracing the career of this dynamic artist from his early training and subsequent association with the pivotal California Clay Movement to his important public commissions and philanthropic concerns of the present, it focuses in particular on the past 20 years, which have previously not been the subject of a comprehensive volume. Drawing extensively on interviews he has conducted with Jun Kaneko since 2002, Glen R. Brown reflects on the principal concepts that have shaped Kaneko's art, situating them in the space between a Japanese Shinto ethos and the aesthetic tenets of Western Art Informel and Post-Painterly Abstraction. He discusses in-depth Kaneko's art, from the colossal glazed-ceramic Dangos to the sensitive colouristic stage and costume designs for operas. The book provides fascinating insights into Kaneko's unique, relentlessly self-sustaining creative process and the multiple conceptions of space that inform it. Featuring more than 200 colour illustrations and substantial information not previously available in published form, this book offers an up-to-date definitive critical survey of this important artist's life and work.

120 engaging designs, meticulously adapted from patterns created by influential Victorian artist and craftsman for fabrics, wall hangings, carpets, and other decorative projects, depict lovely florals and vines, exotic birds amid displays of lush garden flowers, perky daffodils and much more-all artfully displayed in circular, oval, and rectangular frames and easily adaptable as templates.