Description
An extraordinary book about one of the most comprehensive groupings of ancient Egyptian jewellery
“Full-colour, wonderfully illustrated catalogue…brings to light these ancient treasures using
the personal correspondence between Laura and Kingsmill Marrs and Howard Carter”—Nile Magazine
“Will appeal to gemmologists and jewellery historians as well as lovers of jewellery”—Belinda Morris, The Jeweller
“An absolutely stunning, highly informative book that you will want to both read and admire!”—bedouinsilver.com
“A must for Egyptomaniacs and scholars of ancient jewels and artefacts”—Maria Doulton, The Jewellery Editor
“Especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college and university library Egyptology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.”—Midwest Book Review
Peter Lacovara and Yvonne J. Markowitz
Edited by Sue D’Auria
With contributions by Paula Artal-Isbrand, Erin Mysak, and Richard Newman
Jewels of the Nile celebrates the internationally important collection of Egyptian jewellery held by the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, which was assembled by Laura and Kingsmill Marrs during the early part of the 20th century. The Boston couple were advised by Howard Carter, the archaeologist who would later achieve world-wide recognition for his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. Under his guidance, the Marrs couple purchased an outstanding selection of scarabs, amulets, jewelry and cosmetic articles, including rare blue-toned stone vessels. They also acquired a group of Carter’s watercolour renditions of important Egyptian sites and royal figures.
The book features beautiful colour illustrations of these artifacts, as well as objects from Worcester’s stellar collection of Egyptian antiquities. Essays by the Museum’s curators and other leading scholars focus on the history of ancient Egypt and the story of the collectors, as well as on the conservation and research surrounding the pieces themselves.
Author biographies
Peter Lacovara is director of the Ancient Egyptian Archaeology and Heritage Fund based in Albany, NY and former curator at the MFA Boston and at Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta.
Yvonne J. Markowitz is the Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator Emerita of Jewelry at the MFA Boston
Paula Artal-Isbrand is the objects conservator at the Worcester Museum of Art
Table of Contents
- Foreword
- Chronological Table of Ancient Egypt
- Maps of Egypt, Nubia, and Thebes
- A Brief History of Ancient Egypt by Peter Lacovara
- Laura Norcross Marrs: Traveler, Collector, and Philanthropist by Peter Lacovara
- Jewels of the Nile by Yvonne J. Markowitz
- Conservation, Technique, and Research by Paula Artal-Isbrand
- Catalogue
Amulets by Yvonne J. Markowitz
The Sacred Beetle by Yvonne J. Markowitz
Ancient Egyptian Jewelry by Yvonne J. Markowitz
Cosmetics by Peter Lacovara
Funerary Art by Peter Lacovara - Analysis of Egyptian Plaquette Mounted as a Brooch by Erin R. Mysak and Richard Newman
- Bibliography
- Additional Object Information
- Index
- Photo Credits
