Tiaras - A History of Splendour: Amazon.ca: Goffrey C. Munn: Books

Product Description

Review

"For anyone interested in social history, it's as good a read as you are likely to have this year." -- Daily Telegraph, April 10, 2002

Book Description

Tiaras have always inspired a great fascination and the most beautiful and influential women have been painted, photographed and admired whilst wearing them. Even in the twenty-first century they are still worn and continue to inspire special poise and elegance. This lavishly illustrated book includes new photographs of a variety of Royal tiaras together with those of French and Russian Imperial provenances. Geoffrey Munn has been granted special access to the photographic archives of many famous jewellers, including Cartier, Boucheron and Faberg,, for his research. Other makers include Castellani, Fouquet, Garrards, Giuliano, Lalique, and Tiffany. Among the contemporary pieces illustrated are tiaras belonging to Jamie Lee Curtis, Vivienne Westwood, Elton John and Madonna, made by Slim Barratt, Galliano and Versace.

See all Product Description

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary history of an ancient jewelry form, Aug 4 2002

By

Catherine S. Vodrey (East Liverpool, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Tiaras - A History of Splendour (Hardcover)

Geoffrey Munn's superb "Tiaras" is a treat in every possible sense of the word. I'll be perfectly frank in admitting that I bought the book purely to drool over the photographs (which are sumptuous). And yet without intending to be educated, I ended up learning a great deal from Munn's concise and accurate text.

Munn has served as the jewelry consultant and appraiser for the BBC version of "Antiques Roadshow" for some years, and his expertise is immediately evident in "Tiaras." He gives a detailed-but-never-overwhelming history of these crown-like adornments, from ancient Egypt and Rome (where they began as wreaths of foliage worn by nobility) all the way through the 20th century.

You would think that only bejewelled tiaras would be represented here, but this is not the case. Of course there are magnificent examples in all manner of precious metals and faceted gemstones, but there is also a variety of unusual pieces, such as . . .

. . . a black-and-white banded agate tiara designed specifically for use when the wearer is in mourning;

. . . an improbably lovely washed beechwood (yes, wood!) tiara designed by Queen Elizabeth's nephew, Viscount Linley, a famed furniture designer, and modeled here by his lovely wife;

. . . a rock-crystal tiara hand-engraved with Russian arabesques and set with a shimmering array of rose-cut and brilliant diamonds;

. . . a foliate-and-floral tiara in which the three-dimensional elements decorating the piece are set "en tremblant," meaning that they quiver as though alive with every subtle movement of the wearer's head;

. . . a French Art Nouveau tiara hand-carved from cow horn and set with glowing moonstones to resemble a thickly forested grove thronged with, perhaps, fireflies;

You will learn all sorts of wonderful things here, such as the impact of Art Nouveau on the formerly always-symmetrical tiara form; the influence of Art Deco in bringing the naturalistic Art Nouveau influence back into line with the advances of the Machine Age; the ability of many tiaras to be taken apart and broken down into necklaces, bracelets, and brooches; and the impact upon tiaras of the pendulum of fashion.

The photographs are really quite something to behold. The gemstones are fiery and brilliant, casting off every bit of light they catch. The pictures are crisply detailed and utterly saturated with color. The tiaras are shown both on their own and on the heads of some of their lucky owners. The book is an utter delight.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You HAVE to BUY this book!!!, Sep 29 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Tiaras - A History of Splendour (Hardcover)

For anyone who has ever wanted to more about the history and the story behind a particular Tiara, or anyone who has been curious about those fabulous jewels of the royals, this book is an absolute MUST HAVE!!! It's completely filled with information and color close-up photographs of THOUSANDS of Tiaras. I haven't been able to put it down since receiving it and I will treasure it as much as I treasure "In Royal Fashion". If you LOVE British history, own "The Queen's Jewels", or are just entirely curious about this facinating subject...you MUST buy this book and treasure it.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Tiaras - the perfect history, May 30 2002

By

Sarah Lewis (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tiaras - A History of Splendour (Hardcover)

This is the first comprehensive history of tiaras as objects in their own right, not as items in histories of particular jewellers. The book is sumptiously produced with fantastic illustrations - the photos are incredible - and the text is engrossing. If you are interested in jewellery then this book is essential! As well as looking in great detail at royal jewels, aristocratic jewels are also considered as well as ones made of modern materials such as plastic.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 5 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 16 reviews 4.9 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous Tiaras
I felt this book was a wonderful history of tiaras from their origin to present day. The author, Munn, wrote interesting details of historical tiaras. Read more

Published on Mar 28 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for royalty and historical jewelry fans
This is a beautiful book with lots of photos (many in color) of tiaras from the past to the near present, focusing mainly on the 1800-1960s (although the Spenser tiara that Diana... Read more

Published on Mar 12 2002 by Jessica Kerr