What distinguished 'art' from 'Art' ? Types of display, collecting, certain kinds of knowledge becoming matters of profession, etc. A specialised and fascinating study that puts the subject ... read more
Garments to tents in South Asia in the C16th-C17th. Richly illustrated, this book shows cloth participated in both political and social spheres, and reflected seasonal rhythms.
Everyday at least for that great patroness... loved not least because she paid her bills on time. This illustrated chronology of the porcelain, its commissioning and use, is a magnificent bo... read more
The Director of the V&A looks at how the great ceramicist and Lunar man transformed society by creating an early form of international mass market, while also significantly contributing to t... read more
Chinoiserie in all its forms - wallpapers, laquers, furniture, porcelain: this book is of course completely delightful. The author wrote his doctoral thesis on the subject and is also an art... read more
A gorgeous book in landscape format on the history of screens from the C8th to the C21st. Profusely illustrated, it comes in a slipcase and includes fold-out reproductions of six screens in ... read more
2 vols in a slipcase: from 1921-1945, and from 1945-today. Covers the story of the packaging and marketing, with photographers such as Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton.
VF has written excellent previous books on colour and on jewels. This new one looks at textiles from sackcloth to silk, from Wales to Papua and Guatemala... Combining science with history an... read more
Another gorgeous book from Thames & Hudson, following their previous volumes Ruby and Emerald. This is the final instalment of the series, and ranges from the C4th to the present, from Centr... read more
Published in collaboration with Maison Chaumet, this illustrated book looks at gems and jewellery from different and often unexpected angles, with contributions not only from curators but fr... read more
Shows glass alongside paintings by the many American artists who found inspiration in Venice, and who carried aspects of the manufacture of Italian glass deep into American culture.
An illustrated survey of all aspects of the master's work, with contributions by experts on stained glass, church architecture, textile design, tableware etc...
A biography of the design entrepreneur whose influence may be traced in everything, from where we live to what we eat; and whose work is enshrined in his ultimate creation, The Design Museum... read more
A lavishly illustrated work of scholarship, exploring maiolica's conversations with artifacts ranging from Islamic metalwork and Chinese porcelain to Venetian lace and glass.
A gorgeous book, drawing from the V&As enormous collections. It contains over 500 pages of lavish illustrations, each chapter focusing on a different technique - weaving, knitting, dying... read more
From the author and publisher (Prestel) who did the superb Damascus Tiles a few years ago; covering architectural ceramics from Sultanate and Mughal India, and Pakistan.
Artisan trades of Paris - a ribbon maker, the boiseries of Feau et Cie, pastel crayons still rolled as they were in the time of Degas, etc., presented by a designer, artist and shopkeeper. M... read more
A cultural history through seven coloured lenses. Its broad frame of reference encompasses Shakespeare, Goldfinger (first name Auric), Goethe, Roman marbles, Bronze Age gold, Mayan jade... C... read more
Beautiful repackaging of Werner's 'Nomenclature of Colours' - a referencing system from 1814 which classified colours by matching them to botanical and zoological specimens. 'Tile Red' for i... read more
Blaschka père et fils were from Bohemia but moved to Dresden, where they worked in glass from the mid-1800s to the 1930s, making intricate models of sea anemones, medusas, corals and starfi... read more
Fabric - and our hunger for it - as the mother of invention, the driver behind technology, agriculture, trade, politics, culture... it funded the Italian Renaissance and the Mughal empire. H... read more
Rutter - a literature graduate who notes the etymological link between 'text' and 'textile' - travelled the British Isles researching the social history of wool and knitting. This charming a... read more
Architect Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo and his 18-year-old assistant Herbert Percy Horne answered Ruskin's call for the regeneration of art and society. This is a handsome book about their work... read more