The Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River is an ancient Chinese poem created by Cao Zhi, a writer living in the state of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period (c. 220-280 CE). In his tale, Cao Zhi is returning from the capital to his own land when he stops at the Luo River for a rest, where he sees a vision of the goddess so powerful that he instantly falls in love with her. Cao sees a nymph of peerless beauty “as elegant as a startled swan and supple as a swimming dragon”. Though he’s swept away by her ethereal beauty, it’s a love that isn’t meant to be. With its high production values and amazingly-detailed-multi-page foldout spreads, this is a special book that will entice art lovers of all ages.

Handscroll; Ink and color on silk; 909cm(width)*22cm(height) This scroll inspired by Cao Zhi's "Ode to the Nymph of the Luo River," a poem from the Three Kingdoms period that describes the admiration Cao held for the Nymph, and expresses the melancholy feeling caused by the insurmountable divide between the goddess and the mortal. The scroll repeatedly depicts the same group of main characters in different scenes, using rocks, trees, and streams to divide each scene. Through this approach, the painting is simultaneously segmented and continuous. Rendered in exquisite, vigorous, yet unadorned lines and color washes resembling the threads produced by silkworms in spring, the brightly colored scroll features a painting technique known as "kong gou wu cun," used mainly in depicting landscapes, especially of mountains and rocks. The technique is used here to paint mountains, streams, trees, and rocks. Later generations have commented that in the scroll, "figures and boats are disproportionately large compared to the mountains and rivers."

Magic in Medieval Manuscripts explores the place of magic in the medieval world and the contradictory responses it evoked, through an exploration of images and texts in British Library manuscripts.

The Book of the Bird celebrates the bird in art with an elegant, international collection of paintings, illustrations, and photographs, featuring all kinds of birds from the smallest tits and wrens to colourful exotics. Interspersed though the illustrations are short texts giving background to the pictures and information on bird species. This is the perfect gift for all bird lovers.

- A series of 10 masterpieces of calligraphy from famous masters of different Chinese dynasties, presented in the traditional format of a handscroll In the series Collection of Ancient Calligraphy and Painting Handscrolls: Calligraphy, 10 masterpieces from famous masters of different dynasties are collected, covering mainstream scripts such as regular script, semi-cursive script, cursive script and so on. These treasured copybooks for calligraphy lovers are presented in the traditional format of a handscroll, which can be opened in sequence.

A compilation of fantasy landscapes by Mark Harrison. These include his book jackets for Sherri Tepper's The Gate to Woman's Country and Barry Hughart's The Story of the Stone. Also included are his creations for writers as diverse as PD James and Isabel Allende.

As the day breaks, spilling warm, honeyed light over Cairo, Florine Asch sets out with her sketchpad, pencils and paintbrushes. In her journey through this ancient and mysterious land, Florine will encounter the majesty of the sandstone hills of Abu Simbel, the wonder of the pyramids of Giza, and the baroque elegance of Cairo's grand interiors. From the tranquility of a felucca floating down the Nile to the bustle of the spice stalls in the marketplace, and from the harmony of shepherds inthe pastures along the riverbank to the opulance of Egypt's grandest hotels, the life of the city, the beauty of the desert and the rich hues of sand and stone, all come to life under her brush.--Cover.

From the roly-poly guinea pigs who brought you A Guinea Pig Nativity and A Guinea Pig Pride & Prejudicecomes this adorable adaptation of Dickens' beloved novel Oliver Twist! We’ve admired guinea pigs in bonnets edged with delicate lace and dapper top hats in A Guinea Pig Pride & Prejudice, swooning over the love between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. We’ve oohed and ahhed over guinea pigs in the sweet, hay-filled manger in A Guinea Pig Nativity. Now, in A Guinea Pig Oliver Twist, we’ll delight in the adorable little pigs with expressive eyes dressed in the tattered rags of street urchins and orphans that roamed the streets in gritty 19th-century London. At only nine years old, Oliver Twist is transferred from an orphanage to a workhouse for adults. He is sold to an undertaker as an apprentice, and finally escapes to London, where he joins a gang of pickpocketing street urchins led by Fagin, an older criminal. But young Oliver isn't made for a life of crime, and is upset when his compatriots steal an elderly gentleman's handkerchief. Mr. Brownlow, the owner of the handkerchief, senses Oliver's true nature and takes him in, but the band of thieves won't let Oliver live a straight and narrow life; they kidnap him and drag him back into a life on the street. Forced to assist in a burglary, Oliver is shot and again taken in by the victims of the crime. One of the women, it turns out, is his aunt, and once Mr. Brownlow formally adopts Oliver, they all begin a blissful life in the country. This compact little book is illustrated by dozens of photographs of our favorite guinea pig actors and actresses.

"Published to accompany a major exhibition at Tate Britain, this fully illustrated catalogue explores the history of attacks on art in Britain, from the reformation of the sixteenth century to the present day, demonstrating how religious, political, moral and aesthetic controversy can become arenas for assaults on art. Through eight essays, the broad subject of iconoclasm is broken into three overarching themes: the state-sanctioned iconoclastic zeal of religious reformers, who aimed to purge both churches and minds of the sin of idolatry; the symbolic statue-breaking that accompanies political change such as the targeted attacks on cultural heritage by the suffragettes; and attacks on art by individuals stimulated by a moral or aesthetic outrage. Importantly, the aim of the study is to present the rationale of iconoclasm, its significance to the history of an object, and how it has become a productive and transformational practice for some modern and contemporary artists."--Publisher's description.