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

The Collections

About this title

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 the Author:

Gudrun Bühl is Curator and Museum Director, Dumbarton Oaks.

About this edition

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