Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens: Amazon.ca: Nikolaos Kaltsas: Books

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Book Description

This catalogue contains all the sculptures on display in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, undoubtedly the most important collection of ancient Greek sculptures in the world. Each entry is supplemented by a full bibliography and is written not only for experts but also for the general reading public. A useful short introduction offers readers an overview of ancient Greek sculpture from the Archaic period to the end of Antiquity. Included in this lavishly illustrated volume are the Poseidon of Artemision, a statue of the god brandishing his trident; a marble group of Aphrodite, Pan and Eros found on Delos; the Sounion Kouros, a colossal votive statue found in the sanctuary of Poseidon at Sounion; and the Roman statue of a young athlete, Diadoumenos.

About the Author

Nikolaos Kaltsas is director of the National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Professional Resource, July 16 2004

By

Michael Gunther (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens (Hardcover)

"Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens" is a large-format book which catalogues 800 ancient Greek sculptures on display in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. The catalogue proper is prefaced by a 30-page introduction to the chronological development of Greek sculpture, and by 30 full-color, full-page photographs of some of the museum's best-known pieces. Remaining photographs, in the catalogue itself, are in black-and-white.

The catalogue describes the museum's 800 displayed sculptural holdings (as with all museums, many more, of course, are not on display) in chronological order. Within each given time-period (the Mature Archaic, for example), catalogue entries are further grouped by category into sculptures in the round, grave reliefs, votive reliefs, and other reliefs. This scheme is a welcome change from the haphazard organization (e.g. by acquisition number) which used to confront the professional researcher.

Individual catalogue entries are printed in a blessedly uniform format: catalogue number, popular title, museum inventory number, material, find-spot, dimensions, physical description, assigned date, photograph, and -- another great boon to the researcher -- bibliography, that is, a listing of scholarly articles that discuss that particular sculpture.

Black-and-white photographs, many of them archival, identify individual sculptures. They are printed with admirable clarity. Typical sizes range from 2" x 4" through 6" by 10". Only 84% (670 of the 800) catalogue entries are photographed; rationale for the many omissions is not discussed in the book, but I assume it has something to do with monetary considerations + the fragmentary or damaged nature of the omitted sculptures.

The physical description of all catalogued sculptures includes damage/restoration, paint remnants, visible details of costume, and even the scientific identification of specific muscle groups. As someone who reads this stuff for fun, and who has read every word of this catalogue, I can testify that its printed descriptions are highly accurate, and closely match the visible photographic evidence.

I hope that I have written enough to show that this catalogue is an invaluable professional resource, hence my five-star rating of it. This is not at all a "coffee-table" book for the general reader.

In closing I would like to acknowledge Dr. David Hardy, who has produced a wonderfully clear and idiomatic English translation. He has set a standard, of fluency combined with accuracy, which any translator in the future can only hope to emulate.

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Amazon.com: 5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Professional Resource, July 16 2004

By Michael Gunther - Published on Amazon.com