Dazzling!: Jewelry of the Ancient World (Buried Worlds)

Gr 6 Up--A fully revised and updated version of Renate Rosenthal's Jewelry of the Ancient World (Lerner, 1975; o.p.) that briefly covers ancient jewelry of the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. An introductory chapter explains where archaeologists have made their discoveries and how they have dated pieces and used them to gain an understanding of the societies that produced them. Full-color or black-and-white photographs can be found on every page, and some of them, such as a half-page picture of an Etruscan gold filigree earring, are spectacular. The black-and-white photos, however, don't do justice to the jewelry; the beauty and intricacy of necklaces, earrings, and headdresses excavated from the royal tombs of Ur can only be surmised from them. Jewelry-making techniques and materials are also explained, and even lesser-known materials such as coral and obsidian are covered. A worthwhile purchase.

David N. Pauli, Missoula Public Library, MT

Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.