Author: Cutler, Anthony
Title: The Hand of the Master : Craftsmanship, Ivory, and Society in Byzantium (9th-11th Centuries)
Description: Princeton, Princeton University Press, (1994). orig. cloth, dustwrapper.. 26x20cm, xv,293,(8) pp, Name inked on flyleaf. Weighs 1.2 kilos.. ISBN: 0691033668. Light binding corner bumps. Some rubbing to dustwrapper. VG. ¶ Contents: The Power of Ivory -- The Modern Response -- The Byzantine Response -- Varieties of Experience -- Conditions of Production -- The Quantity and Quality of Ivory -- "Colonial" Tusks and Domestic Bone -- The Question of Workshops -- Stages of Production -- Cutting the Panel -- An Excursus on Tools -- From Panel to Plaque -- Carving the Figures -- Detailing -- Finishing and Assembling -- The Master in Context -- Craftsman, Designer, Client -- Artistic Identity in Byzantium -- Signs of the Master -- The Guidance of the Hodegetria -- Problems of Classification and Chronology -- "Groups" and Individuals -- Toward a History: Datable Works and Minimal Clusters -- The Implications of Contemporaneity -- Ivory in Byzantium Society -- Users and Uses -- The Culture of the Clientele. [" This book is the first detailed study in fifty years of Byzantine ivory carving in the tenth and eleventh centuries, the era when work in that medium reached its highest level of attainment. Unique in its aim and range, The Hand of the Master considers how, when, and why the Byzantines used ivory for icons and other luxurious items. Based on direct study of the objects, the book discusses more than 150 pieces and is illustrated with new photographs that are indispensable to an understanding of carving techniques and styles. Cutler analyzes the normal working methods of Byzantine carvers, as well as aspects of craftsmanship that enable us to identify distinct hands..." - publisher's description].

Keywords: 0691033668 Byzantine Art History, Byzantium, Ivories, Medieval, Ivory, , , ,