Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

This book presents the first full length study in English of monumental bronzes in the Middle Ages. Taking as its point of departure the common medieval reception of bronze sculpture as living or animated, the study closely analyzes the practice of lost wax casting (cire perdue) in western Europe and explores the cultural responses to large scale bronzes in the Middle Ages. Starting with mining, smelting, and the production of alloys, and ending with automata, water clocks and fountains, the book uncovers networks of meaning around which bronze sculptures were produced and consumed. The book is a path-breaking contribution to the study of metalwork in the Middle Ages and to the re-evaluation of medieval art more broadly, presenting an understudied body of work to reconsider what the materials and techniques embodied in public monuments meant to the medieval spectator.

Is the lion the symbol of China? Or should it be the dragon or the phoenix? This book makes a provocative interpretation of the Chinese ancient totems such as the bear and the owl. Taking a mythological approach, it explores the origin of Chinese civilization using the quadruple evidence method, which integrates ancient and unearthed literature, oral transmission, and archeological objects and graphs. It testifies to the authenticity of unresolved ancient myths and legends from the origins of Chinese Jade Ware (6200BC-5400 BC) to the names of the Yellow Emperor (2698–2598 BC) and the legends from the Xia (2010BC-1600BC), Shang (1600BC-046BC), Zhou (1046BC-771BC), and Qin (221BC-206BC) Dynasties. The book lays the foundation for a reconstruction of Chinese Mythistory. With well over 200 photographs of historic artifacts, the book appeals to both researchers and general readers.

This generously illustrated book records the story of Russia's bells--the thousands of awe inspiring instruments that gave voice to the visual splendors of Russian Orthodoxy and to the political aspirations of the tsars. Originally published in 1986. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Imagine you play a musical instrument so rare no one knows it exists... Inspiration comes through people, not from people. It comes from another place and does not belong to you. It is meant to be shared with everyone. The Bell Man is the autobiography of Frank DellaPenna, the creator of one of the most unique musical acts ever witnessed: Cast in Bronze - combining the magical sound of a rarely seen medieval instrument of bells called a carillon with other instruments for the first time in history. He reveals secrets of his past, and walks you through his life's journey that ultimately led him to his destiny. This book will inspire anyone who has a dream...

The book “Similar but Different. Bell Beakers in Europe” deals with a cultural phenomenon, known as the Bell Beaker culture, that during the 3rd millennium B.C. was present throughout Western and Central Europe. This development played an important role in the formation of the Bronze Age at the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC. This book consists of 10 chapters – in each a specific issue is discussed connected with Bell Beakers. The chapters are divided into three parts concerning consecutively: general problems, issues of the so-called common ware and the character of the Bell Beakers in particular places in Europe. The reader can become acquainted with interpretations of the whole phenomenon, based on inter-regional similarities – the works of H. Case, M. Vander Linden, L. Salanova, and R. Furestier. The second part consist of the chapters by Ch. Strahm, M. Besse and V. Leonini that focus on the matter of the so-called common ware: some ceramic vessels, which are not part of the ‘beaker set’, but accompany it in many regions. That is one of the Bell Beakers’ analytical problems, which is still argued about. The three last chapters show the specific features of some regional centers, where Bell Beakers developed, the attention was focused on the Bell Beakers’ localities’. These are the works of A Gibson (Britain), O. Lemercier (Mediterranean France) and L. Sarti (central Italy). The book shows the basic features of the Bell Beaker culture in Europe. These however are still a challenge for researchers, because the phenomenon had two faces. On the one hand it is characterized by a set of material culture which is occurring in many places Western and Central Europe. On the other hand, in specific areas, these features were relatively easily influenced by the local environment, they got some sort of regional particularities. That is the essence of the Bell Beakers, hence the title of this book: ‘similar but different’. This book is a reprint, the first edition was published in 2004 by the Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań.

The fascinating history of bell music The carillon, the world’s largest musical instrument, originated in the 16th century when inhabitants of the Low Countries started to produce music on bells in church and city towers. Today, carillon music still fills the soundscape of cities in Belgium and the Netherlands. Since the First World War, carillon music has become popular in the United States, where it adds a spiritual dimension to public parks and university campuses. Singing Bronze opens up the fascinating world of the carillon to the reader. It tells the great stories of European and American carillon history: the quest for the perfect musical bell, the fate of carillons in times of revolt and war, the role of patrons such as John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Herbert Hoover in the development of American carillon culture, and the battle between singing bronze and carillon electronics. Richly illustrated with original photographs and etchings, Singing Bronzetells how people developed, played, and enjoyed bell music. With this book, a fascinating history that is yet little known is made available for a wide public.

The Chinese made the world's first bronze chime-bells, which they used to perform ritual music, particularly during the Shang and Zhou dynasties (ca. 1700-221 B.C.). Lothar von Falkenhausen's rich and detailed study reconstructs how the music of these bells—the only Bronze Age instruments that can still be played—may have sounded and how it was conceptualized in theoretical terms. His analysis and discussion of the ritual, political, and technical aspects of this music provide a unique window into ancient Chinese culture. This is the first interdisciplinary perspective on recent archaeological finds that have transformed our understanding of ancient Chinese music. Of great significance to the understanding of Chinese culture in its crucial formative stage, it provides a fresh point of departure for exploring later Asian musical history and offers great possibilities for comparisons with music worldwide.