Marion CampbellMedieval Jewellery: In Europe 1100-1500

For those already with knowledge of the history of jewellery, especially in the time period listed, this book might not offer you much new info or new pictures.However, for someone just starting out, or for a really cool coffee table book, or a easy reference book, for either a young person or an older person who would like a good overview without lengthy, academic critique or the flamboyance of scholary pomp, this a good book.This is the first book I have bought on the subject. Even though I have looked at other books and read some of them, I can not really compare it to other books on the subject. However, I feel that the money was not wasted if one is not expecting an indepth, historical dissertation on Medieval Jewellery.

If you are looking at this page, presumably you have an interest in medieval jewelry. Do not wait - buy it now. There have been very few books on medieval jewelry in the past several years and they've gone out of print quickly, to become extremely expensive on the used market.This one has a reasonable amount of text, but is mostly pictures. Even though it is sponsered by the V & A, pictures come from other galleries as well. There are lots of photos of extant items, as well as reproductions of portraits that depict the jewelry with great detail. There is some information the making of the jewelry and the use of heraldry in jewelry.

This book is not humongous or very long, but it does contain some gorgeous color shots of jewels I'd never seen before, and brings out some details of jewelry that aren't well-known. The cover shot itself really brings home just how "random" gemstones were at the time--nowadays we wouldn't even tolerate such misshapen stones, but this was a jewel fit for a noble back then! Sections on rings (lots and lots, including a Jewish wedding ring), clasps, belt-buckles, and more abound, with plenty to look at for the general reader. Since most jewels that survive are religious-based, there is a lot of that, too, as well as looks at famous jewels like the Three Brothers brooch. People into historical re-creation will especially value these photos--they are amazing.It really is a pity that the author doesn't make something more extensive with the gorgeous collection at her disposal. To be really must-have, this book needs to be several times longer, with even more photos. This is almost a gift book, with little text and only a hundred pages long. It seems like it'd fit well with a beginning library, especially for a younger person, but a serious history wonk might feel somewhat disappointed with it. I give it 4 stars for the quality of the jewelry photos and the quality of what text there is.For the really definitive work, I defer to this source: Renaissance Jewellery.

A great publication, well written, a lot of pictures inside.

Wonderful book with gorgeous pictures. Doesn't go into great detail, and I wish it did, but very nice for a coffee table. You will have to go elsewhere for more scholarly dissertations.

Great book

Very small book....and not worth the money....shipping was very expensive

The writting is somewhat dull and uninspiring, but the color photos and examples shown are good. If medieval jewellery is your thing, or you would like a nice medieval jewellry book to round out your reference books, this volume may do it.