Cultural treasures of the world
Issued Date
Resource Type
Language
eng
Book
Book
File Type
application/pdf
No. of Pages/File Size
360 pages
ISBN
9780241508923
Alternative Title(s)
From the relice of ancient empires to modern-day icons
Abstract
The first objects deliberately crafted by our distance ancestors around three milion years ago were stone tools - essentially pebbles given a sharp edge by striking them against other rocks. They proved so perfectly fit for their purpose that they remained in use for a million years. Over time, human ingenuity provided for other essentials, giving us the first weapons around 300,00 years ago, clothing 70,000 years ago, ceramic pots 20,000 years ago, and implements made of bronze 5,000 years ago and of iron 3,200 years ago. The same human impulse to improve everyday life has driven the technologies that shape our world today.
Table of contents
Foreword 008 -- Introduction 010 -- 1. 40,000 BCE - 501 BCE 012 -- Venus of Hohle Fels 014 -- Lion-Man of Hoh lenstein-St adel 015 -- Altamira Bison 016 -- Kakadu Rock Art 018 -- Judaean Stone Mask 019 -- Palette of Narmer 020 -- Ram in the Thicket 022 -- Cycladic Figure 023 -- Tell Asmar Hoard 024 -- Great Sphinx of Giza 025 -- Standard of Ur 026 -- Head of an Akkadian King 028 -- Mohenjo -daro Dancing Girl 030 -- Babylonian Jewellery 031 -- Meketre Tomb Figures 032 -- Minoan Snake Goddess 034 -- Nebra Sky Disc 035 --Er!itou Plaque 036 -- Minoan Octopus Vase 037 -- Mask of Agamemnon 038 -- Trundholm Sun Chariot 040 -- Oracle Bones 042 -- Bust of Nefert iti 044 -- Mask of Tutankhamun 046 -- Mummy of Katebet 048 -- Hittite Stag Bibru 049 -- Kang Hou Gui 050 -- Phoenician Ivory Plaque 052 -- Olmec Mask 053 -- Regolini-Galassi Fibula 054 -- Strettweg Cult Wagon 056 -- The Cyrus Cylinder 057 -- Attic Dinos 058 -- 2. 500 BCE - 499 CE 060 -- Pe rsepolis Bas-Re lief 062 -- Nok Sculpt ural Pottery 064 -- Chavfn Stone Heads 065 -- Riace Bronzes 066 -- The Oxus Treasure 068 -- Parthenon Frieze 070 -- Golden Lion Rhyton 072 -- Chimera of Arezzo 073 -- The Agr is Helmet 074 -- The Terracotta Army 076 -- The Rosetta Stone 078 -- The Gundestrup -- Cauldron 080 -- Laocoon 082 -- Bimaran Reliquary Casket 084 -- Augustus of Prima Porta 086 -- Tillya Tepe Hoard 088 -- Newspaper Rock 090 -- Amaravati Pillar 092 -- Artemis of Ephesus 093 -- Trajan's Column 094 -- Fayum Mummy Portraits 096 -- Gansu Flying Horse 098 -- Paracas Textile 099 -- Teotihuacan Sculpture 100 -- Moche Portrait Heads 101 -- Nazca Figure Vessels 102 -- Lycurgus Cup 103 -- Ajanta Cave Paintings 104 -- Admonitions of the lnstructress 106 -- 3. 500-1199 108 -- Mosaics of San Vitale 110 -- Sutton Hoo Helmet 112 -- Zapotec Mural 114 -- The Lindisfarne Gospels 116 -- Death Mask of Pakal 118 -- Bonampak Murals 120 -- Diamond Sutra 122 -- Lindau Gospels Treasure Binding 124 -- Ramayana Bowl 126 -- lgbo-Ukwu Bronze Wares 128 -- Cordoba Mosque Mihrab 130 -- Banteay Srei 132 -- Carolingian Astrolabe 134 -- Yixian Luohan Statue 135 -- Bernward Bronze Doors 136 -- The Bayeux Tapestry 138 -- Qingming Scroll 140 -- Dancing Celestial Deity 142 -- Toltec Warrior Head 143 -- Attendants of Fuda Myo'o 144 -- 4. 1200-1499 146 -- Lewis Chessmen 148 -- Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe 149 -- Chartres Cathedral Stained Glass 150 -- Konark Sun Temple Sculptures 152 -- Mosaics of Hagia Sophia 154 -- Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine 156 -- Coronation Chair 158 -- Chimu Collar 159 -- Easter Island Moai 160 -- Mamluk Enamelled Glass Bottle 162 -- lfe Head 164 -- The Hereford Mappa Mundi 166 -- Ognissanti Madonna 168 -- Baptistere de Saint Louis 170 -- Bust of Charlemagne 172 -- Javanese Funerary Mask 174 -- Golden Buddha 175 -- Codex Zouche-Nuttall 176 -- The David Vases 178 -- Tomb of the Black Prince 180 -- The Wilton Diptych 182 -- Soninke Sculpture 184 -- Old Testament Trinity 185 -- Mask of Tezcatlipoca 186 -- Ming Jar 188 -- The Ghent.Altarpiece 190 -- The Annunciation 192 -- Gutenberg Bible 194 -- Zytglogge Astronomical Clock 196 -- Ivory Hunting Horn 197 -- Primavera 198 -- The Garden of Earthly Delights 200 -- 5. 1500 -1699 202 -- Mona Lisa 204 -- David 206 -- The Sistine Chapel Ceiling 208 -- Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp 210 -- The Cassia Grove Studio 212 -- Venus of Urbino 214 -- The Ardabil Carpets 216 -- Cellini Salt Cellar 218 -- Benin Bronzes 220 -- Aztec Sun Stone 222 -- Tughra of Suleiman the Magnificent 223 -- Helmet of Charles IX 224 -- lznik Ceramics 226 -- Empress Xiaoduan's Phoenix Headdress 228 -- Pine Trees 230 -- Self-Portrait as a Lute Player 232 -- The Judgement of Paris 234 -- The Night Watch 236 -- The Ecstasy of St Teresa 238 -- Sri Lankan Ivory Cabinet 240 -- Las Meninas 242 -- Ethiopian Christian Icon 244 -- 6. 1700 -1899 246 -- Japanese Lacquerware 248 -- Maqdala Crown 249 -- The Imperial Crown of Russia 250 -- The Swing 252 -- Ndop of Mishe miShyaang maMbul 254 -- Qianlong-Era Clock 255 -- Hawaiian Feather Cloak 256 -- KO, Hawaiian God of War 258 -- Bangwa Queen 259 -- Napoleon Crossing the Alps 260 -- Star-Spangled Banner 262 -- The Third of May 1808 264 -- Wanderer above the Sea of Fog 266 -- The Great Wave 268 -- The Fighting Temeraire 270 -- Samurai Armour 272 -- Akan Gold-Weights 274 -- Nkisi Nkondi 275 -- Peking Opera Robe 276 -- Ophelia 278 -- Sudden Shower over Shin - Ohashi Bridge 280 -- Sacred Eagle Feather Bonnet 282 -- Dance at the Moulin de la Galette 284 -- Little Dancer Aged Fourteen 286 -- Bathers at Asnieres 288 -- Sunflowers 290 -- The Child's Bath 292 -- Pictorial Quilt 294 -- Ta Mako Panel 296 -- The Water-Lily Pond 298 -- 7. 1900 - Present 300 -- Faberge Imperial Eggs 302 -- The Thinker 304 -- Group IV, The Ten Largest, No. 7, -- Adulth ood 305 -- The Kiss 306 -- Head of a Woman 308 -- Composition VI 310 -- Costu mes for The Rite of Spring 312 -- Dogon Dance Mask 314 -- Patiala Necklace 315 -- Christ the Redeemer 316 -- The Persistence of Memory 318 -- Guernica 320 -- The British Crown Jewels 322 -- The Two Fridas 324 -- Nighthawks 326 -- Diary of Anne Frank 328 -- Pelagos 330 -- Man Pointing 331 -- One: Number 31, 1950 332 -- Campbell's Soup Cans 334 -- Earthrise 336 -- Pumpkin 338 -- Angel of the North 340 -- Object Locations 342 -- Glossary 344 -- Index 345 -- Acknowledgments 358.
Description
Discover the world's most celebrated cultural artefacts from the world's greatest museums and collections. From ancient bone idols lost for millennia to modern masterpieces cherished by millions, here are humanity's most treasured works of devotion, prestige, and exquisite craft. Alongside their intriguing stories, incredible images bring the pieces to life, revealing their beauty, history, and often hidden meaning.