Amber: Window to the Past

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This remarkable book explores the unique properties of amber (fossilized tree resin) that have intrigued people the world over. First published for the hugely popular 1996 exhibition organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, this book reveals amber's role in tracing evolutionary history and its use in decorative arts and jewelry. New exhibitions—at the Newark Museum and the soon-to-be-open Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New...
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1996 Hard cover New in new dust jacket. Never read and DJ in great shape. (PAL111306) This item cannot be shipped internationally or expedited because of size or weight. Sewn ... binding. Cloth over boards. Audience: General/trade. Read more Show Less

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More About This Book

Overview

This remarkable book explores the unique properties of amber (fossilized tree resin) that have intrigued people the world over. First published for the hugely popular 1996 exhibition organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, this book reveals amber's role in tracing evolutionary history and its use in decorative arts and jewelry. New exhibitions—at the Newark Museum and the soon-to-be-open Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New York—attest to the continuing fascination with amber in nature and art.


About the Author:
David A. Grimaldi is Associate Curator and Chairman of the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Entomology, Adjunct Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the City University of New York, and Adjunct Professor of Entomology at Cornell University.

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Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
This beautifully illustrated book will be popular among naturalists and artists alike. Grimaldi, chair of the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Entomology, has skillfully combined the natural history of amber with coverage of its uses throughout history in art and sculpture. He discusses the properties of various types of amber, its most common localities, the types of life it typically preserves, and examples of past forgeries. Grimaldi's discussion of objects made of amber, from pipe stems to wall murals, range from the Mesolithic era to the 19th century and include all parts of the world. Among the book's greatest strengths are the copious and outstanding photographs and illustrations of specimens and objets d'art with accompanying descriptive notes. A wide-ranging treatise that will appeal to everyone from lay readers to specialists; highly recommended.-Jeanne Davidson, Oregon State Univ. Lib., Corvallis
Patricia Monaghan
Every semiprecious jewel needs a major motion picture to increase its audience appeal. Five years ago, a book on amber could guarantee an audience--perhaps--only of Lithuanian ladies of a certain age. But after "Jurassic Park", is there an American who doesn't know about the miracles of long ago that are encapsulated in petrified resin? This lavish book captures both the beauty and the strangeness of amber: the beauty, in glorious, honey-toned color images of some of the world's most exquisite amber artifacts; the strangeness, in close-ups of leaf fragments, tiny feathers, or whole bees buried among bubbles of ancient air. The text, meanwhile, is solid and comprehensive; the rest of the illustrations, including at least as many black-and-white historical and documentary plates as there are colorplates, excellent.
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Product Details

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments 8
Amber in Nature 11
Origins and Properties 12
Resins 14
Copal 16
Deposits of the World 21
The Era of the Dinosaurs: Mesozoic Amber 21
Tertiary Deposits 38
Baltic Amber 47
Dominican and Mexican Amber 62
Frozen in the Act 79
Ancient Communities: Reconstructing the Ancient Dominican Amber Forest 98
Intricate Preservation 117
Ancient DNA, Evolution, and Suspended Animation 126
Processed Amber, Imitations, and Forgeries 133
Amber in Art 143
Mesolithic Period to the Bronze Age 145
Amber among the Ancients 149
Medieval and Renaissance Amber 160
Seventeenth - Nineteenth-Century European Amber 166
The Amber Room 186
Asian Ambers 194
Selected Bibliography 209
Index 211
Photograph Illustration Credits 216
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