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| ARAB CHEST [Sheila Unwin; Foreword by Sir Terence Clark] This is the first exhaustive study of a piece of furniture that has been used in the Arab world for centuries, and on the East African coast since the early 1800s. The Arab chest caught the attention of expatriates and travellers throughout these regions, and by the mid-20th century it had become a collector’s item in the West. The author, Sheila Unwin, first came across the chests in East Africa in the early l950s. Since then she has been determined to discover their provenance and unravel their stylistic origins. This journey of detection is reflected in her historical overviews, which cover the early Arab trading networks, Arabs and Persians in East Africa, the Gulf and Oman, the Mughals in India, and the early explorations and trading expeditions of the Portuguese, Dutch and British from East Africa to the Far East. Her study of these enables her to trace the cultural influences that have combined to produce the chests, and to chart their complex origins. More than a historical survey, the book is also a guide to the classification, care and cleaning of chests. It is lavishly illustrated with archive and contemporary photographs and maps, while line drawings demonstrate the differences in classification and type of chests and fittings. Owners of these fine pieces will find this an invaluable companion and resource. Sheila Unwin greatly enriches our appreciation of an artefact which can now be seen, in the light of her research, as a fascinating embodiment of the old Indian Ocean trading network. { 134pp, 200x260mm, November 2006; HB, £25.00, 0954479262:9780954479268 , Arabian Publishing Ltd } |
| CARE & CONSERVATION OF MANUSCRIPTS, VOLUME 9 : Proceedings of the Eighth International Seminar Held at the University of Copenhagen, 14th to 15th April 2005 [Gillian Fellows-Jensen & Peter Springborg (eds)] { 250pp, 165x235mm, October 2006; PB, £25.00, 8763505541:9788763505543 , Museum Tusculanum Press } |
| CHRISTIAN VIII & THE NATIONAL MUSEUM : Antiquities, Coins, Medals [Jørgen Steen Jensen, John Lund & Bodil Bundgaard Rasmussen (eds)] Prince Christian Frederik (1786-1848) became King Christian VIII of Denmark in 1839. His accession to the throne took place at the end of Denmark's 'Golden Age' -- a period haunted by national bankruptcy but, notably, due to a few men of vision also a period in which painting, poetry and science developed intensively. Because of his intelligence, energy and patronage of the arts, King Christian VIII became one of the entrepreneurs of Danish cultural life. After his death in 1848, the King's collection became state property and was transferred to the National Museum. In 1998, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the King's death, the National Museum arranged a symposium where a series of papers were presented about the King as a collector and about the importance of the collections. This book, lavishly illustrated with photographs of the collection and other artefacts, contains the symposium papers, which have been revised and expanded. { 180pp, 185x220mm, December 2006; PB, £13.99, 8789438051:9788789438054 , Aarhus University Press } |
| DRESSED TO RULE : 18th Century Court Attire in the Mactaggart Art Collection [John E Vollmer] Art takes on many forms. In this selection of Asian court attire, dating from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the phrase "you are what you wear" resonates. Vollmer journeys back to the thirteenth-century Chinese Empire, where ancestors of the ruling Manchu conquerors dressed fittingly. These exquisite costumes remind us that although royalty once set fashion standards the way that celebrities do today, these garments also promoted distinct national and political messages to help keep a ruling minority in power for nearly three centuries. Dressed to Rule is a guide to the exhibit, of the same name, appearing at the University of Alberta in 2007. { 60pp, 280x250mm, October 2007; PB, £17.99, 1551952149:9781551952147 , University of Alberta Press } |
| ROMAN QUINARII : From the Republic to Diocletian & the Tetrarchy [Cathy E King] It is unusual for a book on coins to focus only on a single denomination. It is even more extraordinary to concentrate on a small coin like the quinarius (worth half a denarius) throughout the whole of its period of issue. But that is exactly what this volume does. The catalogue is the core of the work. In it quinarii are listed from the date when they were first minted during the Roman Republic to their final appearance in the late third century AD before Diocletian's reform of the coinage. The author has included all specimens that could be verified that are listed in the major catalogues ( e g . RIC. BMC, etc:) as well as those from many public collections (both published and unpublished) and some that require reconfirmation that they actually exist. Illustration is lavish: there are 37 plates where the coins are illustrated at their actual size and 17 where selected items have been enlarged to 1½ times life-size. Where it has not been possible to illustrate a coin, every attempt has been made to supply references to photographs elsewhere. The text has been divided into three chronological sections: the Republic to Domitian; the second century ending with Commodus: and the third century from AD 192 to Diocletian's reform. Within each, the focus is on explaining when and where quinarii were minted, the way in which they operated within the coinage, and how their function evolved over time. Detailed analysis of the sequence of issues, mint attribution, dating, and circulation also form a critical part of the discussion supported by tables, graphs, and drawings. Two bibliographies are also included -- one general and one of find spots. For those who wish to learn more about this small but interesting denomination, this book is essential reading. { 436pp, 195x255mm, September 2007; HB, £60.00, 1854442260:9781854442260 , Ashmolean Museum } |
| SYLLOGE OF ISLAMIC COINS, VOLUME 6 : The Egyptian Dynasties [Norman D Nicol] This volume contains nearly 1600 coins of the 9th to 16 centuries from North Africa to Great Syria. It covers the following dynasties: Tulunids, Ikhshidids, Fatimids, Ayyubids, Zengids and Mamluks. The collection included in the catalogue are those of the Heberden coin Room and the Shamma Collection. { 224pp, 215x280mm, August 2007; HB, £60.00, 1854442104:9781854442109 , Ashmolean Museum } |
| WATERCRAFT ON WORLD COINS, VOLUME 1 : Europe, 1800-2005 [Yossi Dotan] Fram, Golden Hind, Santa Maria, Vasa, HMS Victory are names of famous ships that have played a part in Europe’s maritime history. The stories associated with these and many other ships are told in this book of 'ship coins'. Each narrative provides the historical background and watercraft experience and circumstance of the soldiers, sailors, admirals and generals, explorers, naval commanders and fishermen who sometimes through bravery and sometimes through human error have merited a place in the historical record, and are associated with particular vessels that have merited the striking of a coin in record and rememberance. This book is the first ever to narrate the history through the medium of ships featured on coins. Each entry contains information on the ships, wherever available (length, beam, depth and tonnage). The book constitutes a catalogue of ship coins organised according to the popular KM numbering system, with groupings under separate headings where ships have a common design. The coin images represent the many different ways in which the ships are depicted. Each volume contains a select bibliography and an index listing the ships, persons and other major topics covered in the narratives. Volume I: Europe will be followed by Volume II: America and Asia, 1800-2008 and Volume III: Africa and Oceania, 1800-2011. { 276pp, 170x245mm, May 2007; PB, £35.00, 1898595496:9781898595496 , Sussex Academic Press (Alpha Press) } |