David Brown Book Company
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff; Formen und Farbe.
Published to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the founding of the Brücke Museum in Berlin, and of the artist's gift of 74 paintings, this attractive catalog presents full-page color plates of paintings, drawings, and watercolors in an oversized format (9.25x9.75 inches). Three essays discuss Schmidt-Rottluff's still lifes, use of color and composition, and his relationship with the artist group Die Brücke. The text is in German. A short chronological biography of the artist and a bibliography (but no index) are included. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Kasapata and the archaic period of the Cuzco Valley.
The Cuzco Valley in Peru is known as the heartland of the Incas and host, however exacting, to the people before them from about 9000 to 2200 BCE. This collection of articles describes findings of recent surveys and excavations that show those early people were not a few farmers in scattered villages as previously thought but a significant population with a complex culture. Focusing on the excavation site at Kaspata, contributors describe the research, the lithic assemblage, human skeletal materials, faunal remains, the sources of archaic obsidian materials, and the overall impression of the archaic period in the valley. The illustrations and photographs are particularly good and an appendix includes radiocarbon dates from the excavation site. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Kaupang in Skiringssal.
This is the first of an anticipated six volumes, all devoted to documenting and analysing the extensive and longstanding excavations of the Viking trading site. Published in an oversized format (8.5x12 inches), the volume is filled with painstaking plans and drawings, as well as tables, maps, and photographs. The first 15 chapters are grouped into three main sections; background, excavations and surveys from 1998-2003, and scientific analyses. Other topics are the site of Skiringssal, including its cemetery, the 12th-century poem Ynglingatal, and towns and markets in southwest Scandinavia in 800-950. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Krigskunst og kanoner/Kriegskunst und Kanonen; 2v.
Published in an oversized format (9.75x13.75 inches), this two-volume work presents a full facsimile, transcription, and Danish and German translations of an unusual manuscript, written c.1450 on the art of war and the use of cannons by an engineer affiliated with the Danish court (the manuscript is AM 374 fol. in the Arnamagnaean Collection at the U. of Copenhagen). A description of the manuscript, discussion of the contents, and full glossary of terms is included. All materials are in both Danish and German (only). Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Company. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Landscape evolution in the Middle Thames Valley; Heathrow terminal 5 excavations v.1: Perry Oaks. (CD-ROM included)
This is the first volume describing the findings of archaeological work in West London's Middle Thames valley, at the site dubbed "Terminal 5," because it is beneath that wing of the London/Heathrow Airport. Discussing discoveries made between 1996 and 2000, project manager John Lewis and collaborators survey and interpret the physical evidence of human inhabitation of the area, dating as early as the seventh millennium BC, and its evolution through the ages. Notable periods include the appearance of settlements in 1700 BC, agricultural activity during the Bronze Age, and the dominating landscape of the Roman period. This book is distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The later Iron Age in Britain and beyond.
Haselgrove (archaeology and ancient history, U. of Leicester, UK) and Moore (archaeology, U. of Durham, UK) present 31 papers that review current archaeological knowledge about Later Iron Age (c. 400/300 BC to the Roman conquest of 43 AD) Britain as well as, for comparative purposes, Ireland, northern France, the Low Countries, Denmark, and Germany in the same time period. Among the topics addressed are exchange, community, and identity in the Severn-Cotswolds; cultural choices in the British Eastern Channel area; social landscapes and identity in Ireland; the landscape of the Upper Thames valley; enclosures in the landscapes of the Trent valley; pit alignments and their landscape context; the ladder enclosures of East Yorkshire; displays of position and possession in northern Cheviot "hillfort" design; fantastic animals in the Celtic art of Britain; hoarding patterns in Norfolk; evidence for the possible avoidance of fish consumption around the North Sea; the question of scale in the production and consumption of cereals; salt production in the Lincolnshire fenland; weapons, ritual, and communication in northern Europe; and social change in the lower Rhine region of Germany. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Lefkandi IV; the Bronze Age, the late Helladic IIIC settlement at Xeropolis. (CD-ROM included)
This volume presents an impressive report of the well- known Xeropolis site, excavated in 1964-1970. The authors include Mervyn Popham (d.2000), who was particularly involved in the excavations and their publication. Published in an oversize format (8.5x12 inches), the volume contains two fold-out drawings of the site and many drawings and plates. The chapters describe in detail the site and its excavation, the pottery, the terracotta figures, and the small miscellaneous finds. A concluding chapter, by Susan Sheratt, summarizes the chief conclusions to be drawn from the excavation finds and the importance of the site in a larger archaeological context. In addition, a CD-ROM contains appendices on the human burials, the shells, statistics and tables on the pottery, and concordances. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
L'orizzonte tardoantico e le nuove immagini, 312-468.
Wall painting and mosaics from 312-468 in Rome are discussed in this sumptuous and exhaustive survey, which is oversized (9.75x12.5 inches) and heavily illustrated with excellent color plates. Essays by Italian historians describe the sites and art works, including catacombs, tombs, and church wall paintings and mosaics. The volume is in Italian. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Making a landscape sacred; outlying churches and icon stands in Sphakia, southwestern Crete.
The Sphakia Survey is an archaeological investigation of how humans have interacted with the landscape of a particular area in southwestern Crete from their earliest arrival ca. 3000 B.C.E. until the end of the Turkish period in ca. 1900 C.E. In this text, the Survey's co-director presents the results of a detailed study she made of two types of religious structures in the area: outlying churches and icon stands. Employing a phenomenological approach, she analyzes the rationale for the positioning of these structures and considers their symbolic function. Distributed in the U.S. by The David Brown Book Company. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Making and marketing; studies of the painting process in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Netherlandish workshops.
Twelve contributions from art historians describe the results of research investigating the workshop practices of Netherlandish painters in the 15th and 16th centuries. Particular emphasis is placed on the activities of 16th-century masters such as Joos van Cleve, Bernard van Orley, and Joachim Beuckelaer, whose work is not as well known as that of their 15th century counterparts. Five of the papers were originally presented at the Historians of Netherlandish Art International Conference, held in Antwerp in March 2002. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Manuscripts and monastic culture; reform and renewal in twelfth-century Germany.
Derived from papers delivered during a 2002 conference held at the monastery of Admont in Steiermark, Austria, this volume presents ten scholarly papers on manuscripts, monks, nuns, and theology during a period of great change and rich philosophical thought. Among the paper topics are an overview by senior scholar Rodney Thomson (emeritus, history and classics, U. of Tasmania), the function of the illustrations in Admont manuscripts, scholasticism at Admont, and the reception of Bernard of Clairvaux's writings on the Song of Songs in 12th-century Austria. Three essays are devoted to aspects of women's art and writing at Admont. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Marshland communities and cultural landscapes.
This is the second volume reporting on the archaeological investigations of the Haddenham project, which conducted landscape surveys at four sites north of Cambridge (UK) from 1981-1987, documenting shifting human settlement and land use patterns as Neolithic woodland transformed into Romano-British marshland. In this volume, Evans (director, archaeological unit, Cambridge U., UK) and Hodder (cultural and social anthropology, Stanford U., US) focus on the later periods investigated by the project, describing the material finds from Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman, and post- Medieval landscapes and commenting on their meaning for our understanding of landscape use, ritual, and other cultural practices. Distributed in the US by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The medieval cathedral of Trondheim; architectural and ritual constructions in their European context.
The architecture, reconstruction, liturgical use, and relation of the cathedral to the mainstream European architectural trends are topics of nine scholarly articles (one article is in German). The baptismal practices, specifics of chapel use, and processions are described in detail. This volume provides a useful service in situating a significant but less well-known monument within the context of European cathedral architectural studies. The volume is well illustrated with plans and b&w photos. Appendices contain liturgical documents (in Latin) from Nidaros (Trondheim) and many other northern European cities. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The medieval cloister in England and Wales.
This special thematic issue (vol. 159) of the Journal of the British Archaeological Association contains 10 essays on the medieval cloister in England and Wales, seven of which were drawn from a conference held at Rewley House, Oxford, in April of 2004. Topics consider Lincoln Cathedral, Cistercian east ranges, Augustinian and Benedictine cloisters, and the origins, uses, architecture, and imagery of the Latin medieval cloister. Others discuss Old Sarum, cloisters in English palaces, at Canterbury Cathedral Priory, experimental architecture, and religious politics. Book reviews appear at the end of the volume. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Medieval Islamic swords and swordmaking; Kindi's treatise on On Swords and their Kinds.
Known as the philosopher of the Arabs, Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi first appears in Baghdad about 820 AD, where he served the caliph. He is thought to have died about 860. Among his many treatises on philosophical and practical matters, especially ideas from foreign lands, was one on the different kinds of swords and how they are made. Hoyland (Middle East studies, U. of St. Andrews) and Gilmour (archaeology and the history of art, U. of Oxford) present the text in Arabic with facing pages of English, comment on it, discuss descriptions of swords in contemporary poetry, and append two similar texts and photographs of the manuscripts. Distributed in the US by the David Brown Book Company. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The medieval postern gate by the tower of London.
This study details the excavation and aspects of the medieval postern gate found at the junction of Tower Hill's defensive wall and the moat of the Tower of London, constructed between 1297 and 1308 and found in 1979. The excavation was done by the former Inner London Archaeological Unit. First summarized is the current knowledge about medieval gates and posterns, as well as the circumstances of the excavation and a description of the report structure. What follows is a narrative of the archaeological and documentary evidence for the development of the gateway, and questions of whether the gate was administered by the city rather than a nearby castle, whether there was an earlier gate, the appearance of the gateway, and the character of the Tower Hill area, its pottery and ivory and bone working. Summaries in German and French are provided. The publication is a joint venture between English Heritage and the Museum of London Archaeology Service to publish backlog sites identified in the London post-excavation review. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Mediterranean prehistoric heritage; training, education and management. (CD-ROM included)
A team of archaeologists, architects, and heritage professionals from universities, government agencies, and non-government organizations in Mediterranean countries and Britain initiated a project in 2001 to identify effective ways to manage, present, and interpret prehistoric sites, and here present their findings. Some focus on one of the five sites chosen as examples, but most consider general topics such as protection and conservation, community involvement, and management plans. The disk contains management plans for the sites. There is no index. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Company. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Mere scraps of rough wood?; 17th-18th dynasty stick shabtis in the Petrie Museum and other collections.
Ancient Egyptian shabtis are small figures ranging from fine art to mere lumps of various materials that served various purposes in tombs for nearly two thousand years and survive in many numbers. Whelan studies a group of wooden shabtis characteristic of the 17th and 18th dynasties. He begins with those in the collection of Flinders Petrie, who made the remark about mere scraps of rough wood, and expands to consider nearly two hundred. There is no index. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Company. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Moche fineline painting from San José de Moro.
The three authors (all with the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA) present this volume as a supplement to their 1999 publication, Moche Fineline Painting. Here they focus on a single site, San José de Moro, where an abundance of the distinct Fineline painted ceramics from the last phase of the Moche civilization in Peru has been excavated in recent years. About 225 photographs and illustrations of the pottery accompany text placing it in context, interpreting its distinguishing characteristics as a deliberate "substyle" of other Moche ceramics that denotes specific ethnic identity, and discussing the now 18 individual artists known to archaeologists. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
More usefully employed; Amelia B. Edwards, writer, traveller and campaigner for ancient Egypt.
Moon seeks to presents a fuller biography of novelist and founder of the Egypt Exploration Society Edwards (1831-92) than previous writers by drawing on a wider range of sources. She was virtually forgotten outside the field of Egyptology until the surge in women's studies towards the end of the 20th century, she says, but the wealth of information about her in archive collections and in her unpublished writing has still not been adequately mined. Distributed in the US by the David Brown Book Company. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
