The founding of the first Persian Empire by the Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great in the sixth century BCE established one of the greatest world powers of antiquity. Extending from the borders of Greece to northern India, Persia was seen by the Greeks as a vastly wealthy and powerful rival and often as an existential threat. When the Macedonian king Alexander the Great finally conquered the Achaemenid Empire in 330 BCE, Greek culture spread throughout the Near East, but local dynasties-first the Parthian (247 BCE-224 CE) and then the Sasanian (224-651 CE)-reestablished themselves. The rise of the Roman Empire as a world power quickly brought it, too, into conflict with Persia, despite the common trade that flowed through their territories. Persia addresses the political, intellectual, religious, and artistic relations between Persia, Greece, and Rome from the seventh century BCE to the Arab conquest of 651 CE. Essays by international scholars trace interactions and exchanges of influence. With more than three hundred images, this richly illustrated volume features sculpture, jewelry, silver luxury vessels, coins, gems, and inscriptions that reflect the Persian ideology of empire and its impact throughout Persia's own diverse lands and the Greek and Roman spheres. This volume is published to accompany a major international exhibition presented at the Getty Villa from April 6 to August 8, 2022.

Between 1561 and 1562 Georg Bocskay, secretary to Emperor Ferdinand I, assembled a large selection of contemporary and historical writings in the Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta, in an attempt to demonstrate his technical skill as a court scrivener. Around thirty years later, Ferdinand’s grandson, Emperor Rudolf II commissioned Joris Hoefnagel, one of the last great European manuscript illuminators, to provide exclusive illuminations for the pages. Currently in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, this unique book—the only one worldwide—was fi rst published in facsimile form in 1993, with extensive commentary by Lee Hendrix and Thea Vignau-Wilberg. Now, at last, there is a newly produced facsimile edition in German. Besides biographies of these two exceptional artists, as well as an analytical observation of the role the manuscript played in the careers of both, Hoefnagel’s illuminations are examined more closely. An indispensable volume for anyone interested in design, typography, manuscript illumination, and exquisite craftsmanship. “The ultimate book-lover’s gift book,” raves The Los Angeles Times.

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 another's work, creating cultural and artistic hybrids that transcended a single tradition. Yet in spite of the remarkable artistic production that resulted from these interchanges, the complex vicissitudes of exchange between Egypt and the Classical world over the course of nearly 2500 years have not been comprehensively explored in a major exhibition or publication in the United States. It is precisely this aspect of Egypt's history, however, that Beyond the Nile uncovers. Renowned scholars have come together to provide compelling analyses of the constantly evolving dynamics of cultural exchange, first between Egyptians and Greeks-during the Bronze Age, then the Archaic and Classical periods of Greece, and finally Ptolemaic Egypt-and later when Egypt passed to Roman rule with the defeat of Cleopatra. Beyond the Nile is milestone publication on the occasion of a major international exhibition and one that will become an indispensable contribution to the field. With gorgeous photographs of more than two hundred rare objects, including frescoes, statues, obelisks, jewellery, papyri, pottery, and coins, this volume offers an essential and interdisciplinary approach to the rich world of artistic cross-pollination during antiquity.

This volume accompanies a major international loan exhibition featuring some three hundred works of art rarely or never before seen in the United States. It traces the development of gold working and other luxury arts in the Americas from antiquity until the arrival of Europeans in the early sixteenth century. Featuring spectacular works from recent excavations in Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico, this exhibition focuses on specific places and times-crucibles of innovation-where artistic exchange, rivalry, and creativity led to the production of some of the greatest works of art known from the ancient Americas. The book and exhibition explore not only artistic practices but also the historical, cultural, social, and political conditions in which luxury arts were produced and circulated, alongside their religious meanings and ritual functions.Golden Kingdoms creates new understandings ofancient American art through a thematic exploration ofindigenous ideas of value and luxury. Central to thebook is the idea of the exchange of materials and ideasacross regions and across time: works of great valuewould often be transported over long distances, or passed down over generations, in both cases attracting new audiences and inspiring new artists. The idea of exchange is at the intellectual heart of this volume, researched and written by twenty scholars based in the United States and Latin America.