Böcker av Diana Scarisbrick

The distinguished private collection, known as the Griffin Collection, comprises in its entirety examples of every category of ring - signet, devotional, memorial, decorative - dating from antiquity to modern times.

Published to accompany a major exhibition at the State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin organised jointly with the Indo-Russian Jewellery Foundation, this lavishly illustrated catalogue brings together royal, ceremonial, and personal Indian jewels to showcase the entire range and variety of the jeweller's art in India.

The distinguished private collection, known as the Griffin Collection, comprises in its entirety examples of every category of ring -- signet, devotional, memorial, decorative -- dating from antiquity to modern times. This catalogue, focusing on about 150 rings in the collection, is concerned with perhaps the most personal rings of all, those associated with love and marriage. Some can be recognised by the figure of Cupid armed with his quiver of golden arrows, others by the symbols of heart and clasped hands. However, the majority are gold bands, sometimes plain and occasionally decorated, that are inscribed with mottoes in English expressing the admiration, affection, and pledges of fidelity which bind humankind together. Known as posies or little poems because they often rhyme, these mottoes were current on rings from the late Middle Ages until the middle of the 19th century. Through these rings, Ms. Scarisbrick engagingly tells the long story of the relations between the sexes from the fifteenth century, when the cult of courtly love was superseded by an idealization of monogamous marriage, to an end in the twentieth century as a result of a different moral outlook.

The political and social worlds of France, England and Vienna during the period which began with the French Revolution and ended with the Second Empire are engagingly seen through the eyes of a highly intelligent Scotswoman, Margaret Mercer Elphinstone, who weds Charles de Flahaut, a Napoleonic general, against the wishes of her admiral father.

Diamond jewelry has long been symbolic of political power and authority in Europe. This book focuses on the individuals who commissioned and wore extraordinarily precious diamond ornaments from the mid-14th century until the `democratization¿ of diamonds that followed the opening of mines in South Africa in 1867. This enthralling story covers seven centuries of history, showing the way in which rulers such as Charles V of France, Queen Elizabeth I of Great Britain, Louis XIV of France and Catherine II of Russia used diamond jewelry to reinforce their power and authority. As works of art, these precious creations mirror the successive styles of each period ¿ late Gothic naturalism, the culture of the Renaissance, Baroque splendour, Rococo elegance and the Imperial grandeur of the First and Second Napoleonic Empires. The recurring themes ¿ religion, sentiment, heraldry, military glory, miniatures and cameo portraiture ¿ are reinterpreted by each generation of jewelers. Like royal dress, diamond jewelry was worn to dazzle and impress ¿ at weddings, coronations, christenings and state visits ¿ and was presented as gifts reflecting princely generosity. Over the centuries, these displays proved remarkably successful as instruments of government, symbolizing the pride and glory of a nation. Arranged chronologically, Diamond Jewelry includes some legendary masterpieces of diamond jewelry. Written by an acknowledged expert, it offers an intriguing overview of one of the world¿s most precious gems.

The Beverley Gem Collection at Alnwick Castle is one of the most distinguished in Great Britain still in private hands. It reflects the longstanding interest of the English nobility in both assembling and commissioning gemstones.

An unparalleled collection of rings dating from the 3rd to the 19th century, presented not chronologically but rather grouped into timeless themes - birth, love, betrothal, marriage, mourning and death - thereby achieving greater insight about the beliefs , sentiments, status, and practices of their former owners.

Devotes itself exclusively to rings, considering them thematically rather than chronologically. This title considers rings in all their forms and makes us delight in them as works of art, and makes their context come alive through paintings, drawings and vivid quotations.