Hamlyn
1970
ISBN: 0600012476
English
168 pages
PDF


In the Greek and Roman world jewellerymaking was a flourishing and sophisticated art. Even the jewellers of the far-flung Aegean islands achieved an incredible standard of craftsmanship, as can be seen from their magnificent work illustrated here. Their elaborate, figured designs are particularly notable, and in the techniques of filigree and granulation they attained an unrivalled virtuosity. Jewellery-making has always been linked to the economic and social structure of society : during times of unashamed extravagance, goldsmiths were encouraged to create sumptuous pieces regardless of cost; at other times, as in the days of Republican Rome, the opposition of authority to any form of luxury was a powerful restraint which is reflected in more modest designs.

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