Book Reviews
European History of Jewelry
Jewelry: From Antiquity to the Present
by Clare Phillips was published in 1996, isbn 0500202877, has 224 pages, and contains 174 illustrations, 54 in color. The list price is $18.95.
Clare Phillips, a curator and lecturer at the Victorian & Albert museum in London, has authored a survey of important jewelry styles, techniques and materials throughout history, with an emphasis on social context. Beginning with the ancient world and moving on to focus primarily on Western Europe, Phillips succeeds in making the subject accessible. One of the few books on the subject that is small in format (trade paperback sized), this is a book that you can carry around and read in a comfortable manner. Unfortunately while it’s filled with numerous illustrations, two thirds are black and white with limited image quality. Even so, this book would make an excellent acquisition for anyone curious about the basics of the history of jewelry, or those interested in a refresher of basic concepts. For further in depth reading, I suggest Jewelry through the Ages by Guido Gregorietti.
Pearls
Pearls: A Natural History
by Neil H. Landman and Paula Mikkelsen, was published in 2001 as a companion piece to an exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History, at a retail
price of $49.50, isbn 0810944952. It discuses the science and history of pearls, and includes 232 illustrations, 3 maps and 194 full color plates.
This well written book explores society's interest in pearls, from their prehistoric use to the recent environmental impact on pearl producing invertebrates. Six of the eight chapters of the book are devoted to a thorough survey of how pearls are utilized by humans throughout history. The authors provide both primary and tertiary sources, including discussion of pearls documented by contemporary observers as far back as Cleopatra's time. Later chapters devoted to the science of pearl growth are written in a style accessible to the layman enthusiast. This is a book that can be mined for its scholarly information, but its popular interest to those who enjoy pearls for their decorative use should not be ignored. Illustrations include extant artifacts, artwork from throughout history, maps describing pearl growth and trade locations, and comparisons of the different pearl producing species. Taken as a whole, Pearls: A Natural History gives us the first definitive work on the history and science of pearls since The Book of the Pearl: Its History, Art, Science and Industry, by George Frederick Kunz, published in 1906.
