Jewelry Technology of the Ancient and Medieval World

Jack Ogden is the gold standard when it comes to researching ancient jewelry. His latest book is the capstone to decades of research based on his endless curiosity about how stuff was actually made: the materials, techniques and the labor. His investigations span the 5-odd millennia humans have been digging up precious metals to adorn themselves with, analyzing every aspect of production; mining, refining, fabricating, and finishing.Historians, curators and auction houses have relied on Jack's expertise for decades, and now he has distilled it for the rest of us, many of whom have been waiting (impatiently) for him to finish this book. Fortunately, he is no George RR Martin, and the book is finally out and does not disappoint. It is full of photographs as well as Rhino (a 3-D software program) diagrams showing how complex pieces were put together, which is invaluable for anyone who ever attempted replicating any of these ancient designs. Few of us ever get to see such objects outside of a museum case (the backsides provide invaluable clues), so this is an invaluable resource.His discussion of fakes and forgeries is fascinating: even with modern technology, a skillfully-made and stylistically accurate fake can be notoriously hard to detect. He surmises that as many as 50% of the objects in an exhibition of Greek Gold in the 1960's were fakes. If you are a talented forger, the upside is far greater fabricating antiquities than it is for modern jewelry, or reproductions. The history of fake antiquities is a long one, and suggests that even more sophisticated fakes will emerge in the future.All in all, an excellent book for anyone interested in this topic. If it were possible to give it 10 stars, I would.

As an ancient jewelry NERD, this book ticks off everything I want in a source book! Beautiful images? ✅ Well-researched descriptions that are easy to understand as a relatively new metalsmith/jeweler? ✅ Detailed diagrams that illustrate construction techniques? ✅ A wide variety of information presented without sacrificing a particular section? ✅This book is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for, and I HIGHLY recommend it!

I have read several articles and books by this author over the years; I like that his new book brings together lots of this information in one place, updated with the latest advances in technology. It is well organized, too, and has excellent photographs showing examples of what he explains. An excellent resource for those interested in ancient jewelry.

Beautiful clear examples of both extant pieces and breakdowns of how pieces were constructed. Writing is informative but not at all dry. Sewn binding is beautiful and the pages lie flat. Topics are laid out in a sensible fashion. If you have an interest in medieval jewelry techniques and processes, this book should probably be in your collection.

I just received it, haven’t read it yet, but am already extremely pleased with this purchase! I’ve paged through it, and it is absolutely full of gorgeous pictures of ancient and medieval jewellery as well as very clear diagrams showing the methods of construction - exactly what I wanted.

A gift for my husband, who is a jewelry designer. It is well worth the price as the photos are beautiful.

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I’ll make it clear from the top that I’m biased because I worked on this book as editor and designer. That said, I’m a teacher and practicing metalsmith with several decades of experience and I was delighted to spend time with this book. Over 700 images of historic metalwork, many of them offering a better view than we’d have looking through a case in a museum. In addition, there are scores of laboratory images showing closeups of ancient solder joints and stonesettings. The author explains in great detail, and often in amusing terms, the origins of jewelrymaking technology such as how wire was made, how the purity of gold was determined, and how soldering was accomplished thousands of years before torches were invented. What a treasure this is!