Dumbarton Oaks: The Collections (Dumbarton Oaks Collection Series 18) - Softcover

Bühl; Gudrun; Carder; James N.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0884023540 ISBN 13: 9780884023548

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2008

Synopsis

Dumbarton Oaks houses the extraordinary art collection begun by Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss. In this book the museum publishes the specialist collections in Byzantine and Pre-Columbian art, along with examples from the Blisses' superb European collection, for the first time.

When Robert Bliss recalled handling a jade Olmec figurine in 1913, he said, "That day, the collector's microbe took root in--it must be confessed--very fertile soil." The Blisses' passion for art bore fruit in a remarkably diverse collection: Flemish tapestries, Renaissance furniture, and paintings by the likes of El Greco, Renoir, and Degas. The celebrated Byzantine collection includes floor mosaics from late antique Antioch, sumptuous jewelry, carved ivory reliefs, liturgical silver, and a comprehensive coin and seals collection. The Pre-Columbian collection showcases fine jade carvings, gold jewelry, monumental sculpture, ritual weaponry, colorful ceramics, and intricately woven textiles.

The publication of this new guidebook coincides with the complete refurbishment of Dumbarton Oaks and the creative reinstallation of the galleries. The curators offer highlights of the collection, accompanied by a lucid and thought-provoking text. Dumbarton Oaks: The Collections is intended as a valuable resource and a pleasure to read for scholars and nonspecialists alike.

About this title

About the Authors

Gudrun Bühl is Curator and Museum Director, Dumbarton Oaks.

James N. Carder is Archivist and House Collection Manager at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.

Miriam Doutriaux is an exhibition associate for the Pre-Columbian Collection at Dumbarton Oaks.

Cécile Morrisson is Director of Research Emerita at Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Paris, and Advisor for Byzantine Numismatics at Dumbarton Oaks.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0884023540
• ISBN 13: 9780884023548
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384