"A landmark publication exploring the relationship between sacred matter and precious materials in the Middle Ages."--Site web de l'éditeur.

Rather than the customary focus on the activities of individual collectors, The Emergence of the Antique and Curiosity Dealer in Britain 1815–1850: The Commodification of Historical Objects illuminates the less-studied roles played by dealers in the nineteenthcentury antique and curiosity markets. Set against the recent ‘art market turn’ in scholarly literature, this volume examines the role, activities, agency and influence of antique and curiosity dealers as they emerged in the opening decades of the nineteenth century. This study begins at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, when dealers began their wholesale importations of historical objects; it closes during the 1850s, after which the trade became increasingly specialised, reflecting the rise of historical museums such as the South Kensington Museum (V&A). Focusing on the archive of the early nineteenth-century London dealer John Coleman Isaac (c.1803–1887), as well as drawing on a wide range of other archival and contextual material, Mark Westgarth considers the emergence of the dealer in relation to a broad historical and cultural landscape. The emergence of the antique and curiosity dealer was part of the rapid economic, social, political and cultural change of early nineteenth-century Britain, centred around ideas of antiquarianism, the commercialisation of culture and a distinctive and evolving interest in historical objects. This book will be of interest to scholars in art history, histories of collecting, museum and heritage studies and nineteenth-century culture.

This well-illustrated (mainly in bandw) volume was produced in conjunction with the opening of the newly refurbished galleries in the museum. The initial chapters discuss the history of collecting of early medieval objects, with two chapters on J.P. Morgan. The remaining scholarly studies discuss the small luxury and everyday metal objects that make up the exceptional collection at the Met; consideration of the archaeological context is prominent. Individual papers discuss jewelry from various locations, the Vermand treasure, the Domagnano treasure, the Vrap treasure, and an analysis of the Lindau book cover. The contributors are affiliated with academic and museum institutions in the US and Europe. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

'A Grand Design' brings together over 250 of the Museum’s treasures to celebrate the institution's history. The unrivalled collections span centuries of art in virtually every medium - ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, furniture, sculpture, textiles and paintings. The examples have been selected to illustrate how the V&A museum has always sought to establish a canon for the decorative arts, through the continuous acquisition of objects of superior craftsmanship and artistic merit from all over the world.