What is maiolica? What is the difference between hard-paste and soft-paste porcelain. What is a piatto da pompa? This book offers definitions of these and other terms related to the techniques, processes, and materials used in the making of ceramics in Europe from the Middle Ages throughout the beginning of the twentieth century. Concise and readable explanations of the technical terms most frequently encountered by the museum-goer, accompanied by numerous illustrations of works from the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum and the British Museum, are presented in an easily portable...

This newest addition to the Museum's popular Looking At series provides definitions of the technical terms most often encountered by museum-goers and student of post-antique European sculpture. The book enhances the appreciation of the art form by explaining the methods used in creating sculpture and the terms used by scholars to describe it.
Featured are clear, concise explanations to questions such as: What is a socle? What are the steps in bronze casting? What is contrapposto? Written for the non-specialist and lavishly illustrated with objects from the Getty Museum and the Victoria...

What is a pyxis? Who was the Amasis Painter? How did Greek vases get their distinctive black and orange colours? This volume offers definitions and descriptions of these and many other Greek vase shapes, painters and techniques encountered in museum exhibitions and publications. There is discussion of how to look at Greek vases and on the conservation of ancient ceramics.

Tool marks and joins, Cycladic and Daedalic styles, and kouroi and kanephoroi are among the many terms pertaining to the study of classical stone sculpture that are succinctly described in this latest addition to the Looking At series. Presented in glossary format, this illustrated book gives concise definitions of the words and phrases most frequently encountered by museum visitors in exhibition labels and texts. Throughout the book, the author focuses on the technical aspects of sculpting that influenced the style and character of the finished works. ancient stone sculpture was produced,...

This newest publication in the popular Looking At series deals with glass terminology. The often arcane technical terms relating to the production and decoration of glass, as well as names of special shapes of glass beakers, are defined in succinct language. Ranging from ancient Roman moldmade glass to modern pressed glass, this glossary is a handy guide for museum-goers and anyone interested in the art of glassmaking.
Illustrated with samples of Roman, Renaissance, Victorian, and modern glass, as well as engravings showing glassmakers at work, the book is both a visual delight and an...