An extraordinary group of Nasca miniature objects—exquisite works produced in ancient Central and South America for personal adornment, ritual use, and burial—resides in the renowned Glassell Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. Dating from about A.D. 600, the Nasca miniatures were reported to have been found together in the Ica Valley of the south coast of present-day Peru. Beautifully crafted from gold, silver, shell, and semiprecious stones, most of these objects were carved from or have elements of spondylus shell, a rare mollusk. Frances Marzio brings the Nasca culture vividly to life through her insightful discussion of diverse artworks from the collection—from warriors and trophy heads to females and a menagerie of animals—focusing on these fascinating treasures as a group for the first time.

Miniature Size, Magical Quality: Nasca Art from the Glassell Collection

Arts & Photography

Marzio, Frances

History & Criticism

Museum Fine Arts Houston

One of the world's top hundred art collectors, Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. (1913-2008), was fascinated by gold, but not for its monetary value. Glassell valued instead the spiritual significance that gold held in many ancient cultures, particularly those of Africa, South America, and Indonesia. Over the years, he acquired an astonishing number of artworks, assembling the largest privately held collection of Pre-Columbian gold. From 1997 to 2004, Glassell donated works of African and Indonesian gold to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Upon his death in 2008, he bequeathed his collection of Pre-Columbian gold to the museum. Masterworks of Pre-Columbian, Indonesian, and African Gold explores two hundred of these dazzling works, many published here for the first time. Spanning from 2000 B.C. to A.D. 1600, these precious objects reflect a variety of cultures, such as the Calima, Quimbaya, Sicán, Moché, and Coclé, and a range of geographic locations, from Mexico to Argentina and from Africa to Indonesia. The book offers fresh insights into the enduring appeal of gold and its artistic manifestations in diverse cultures.

The Glassell Collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: Masterworks of Pre-Columbian, Indonesian, and African Gold

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Everyone has heard of the workhouse. But exactly what was it? Who went there? And how did an institution so universally hated come to be set up? This title tells the story from its first beginnings in Elizabethan times until the final demise of the union in the 1940s.

Gold of the Akan from the Glassell Collection

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Ross, Doran H.

Crafts & Hobbies

Merrell Publishers

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Books by Marzio, Frances