Italian Art Ceramics

Book condition not as described, certainly NOT "Very good in very good dust jacket". Item arrived damaged from BOOK ALLEY. Will not be purchasing from this vendor again.

Great book to any art lover.Thanks.

Beautiful book.

great

This is the kind of art book that makes me love art books. I picked this up at the local Powell's last week, still in its cello-wrap, just sitting on the shelf, priced right.Examining it caused a jumble of thoughts inside my head. The immediacy of the cover is a screaming mixed message. "Italian Art Ceramics 1900-1950" says the cover upon which floats a Lapis ceramic bowl adorned with a classically posed reclining Modern nude who is tangled in a rope cage, holding a provocatively shaped sea shell in her hand.This could be a really campy, gaudy experience immediately came to mind. H'mmm, that is a knock out cover which promises more was the next thing. The Skira imprimatur was an equally mixed bag. At one time Albert Skira was a world renowned art book publisher; however, my experience of the Skira brand was of rather ordinary art books with down market production values; printed in obscure countries not known for high quality print production.I went so far as to ask an employee to search for a publishing house/country to no avail so just took the plunge and bought it expecting to be disappointed.Wow, so glad I did because this roughly 9 x 11 inch book was Made in Italy using first rate reprographics and top notch paper stock such that it actually feels good to handle the book, because the binding is crisp and firm and the paper has a velvety feel to accentuate the really precise and life-like appearance of the numerous color illustrations.The text is another hugely satisfying characteristic of this book for the editor chose to explain his intent, i.e. first discuss the historical and intellectual underpinnings of the book's subject matter and then use color plates to showcase examples of the work identified by artist, producer/company and date, followed by a cataloguing of all 474 representative examples the editors had at their disposal to examine (which appear small B&W illustrations of the objects), and then he proceeded to do just that.Also included is a glossary of terms and, interestingly, the Marks of the major italian artists/producers of the era; a list of professional biographies of same and finally a bibliography. All of this takes place in approx. 285 pps.This is a magic brew. I'm sold on the stuff and I didn't know a thing about Italian Art Ceramics before I opened this book. I'm a genuine convert to the genre and would likely buy another book on the topic if it were as well and beautifully made as this one is.I also really liked the way the editors placed the footnotes alongside the text in the book instead of at the foot of the page or back of the book. I also appreciated the opening essay. It is obvious the author thinks deeply about what went into forming this genre and the essay was masterful in its avoidance of the jargon-laden, difficult, and often meaningless and tortured academic language typical of the canon. Mr. Terraroli simply lays out his case and leaves it up to the reader to take the initiative to further explore the genre in any way he chooses, and supplies ample information on further sources for those inclined to do so.This is the kind of art book that most art books strive to be. Four stars only because it is a rather esoteric subject but, trust me on this, you will be wowed by this book.

A great summary of the period, including the diverse names and makers to help dig into further research. A lovely book to hold in our library on ceramics and porcelain.