Review of Books about Antiquities, Ancient Artefacts & Culture
Books can be a great resource when identifying particular antiquities, their age and their origin. They can be a useful reference tool, and that's one way I enjoy using them. Besides this you get plenty of useful knowledge on the ancient art world by some of the most experienced archaeologists and historians. They've spent a big part of their life studying and researching one particular culture or niche within a culture.
This page serves as a guide for you, if you don't quite know which books to get. Generally the books that I read, have a lot of illustrations and pictures, which helps with comparisons and references.
Charles Ede, Collecting Antiquities - An Introductory Guide
Highly Recommendable
Great overall guide to terracottas, glass, bronzes and similar antiquities from the Meditteranean, Asia-Minor and Egypt. It gives the reader an insight into these different cultures on the basis of beautiful pieces for the collector. It has between around 200 pictures, if not more.
Friedman, Gifts of the Nile - Ancient Egyptian Faience
Essential for Ancient Egyptian Faience Collectors
If you collect or have an interest in antiquities from Egypt made of Faience, then this is a must-have book! It delves deeply into the production methods, symbolism and styles of the different periods. Has a few hundred pictures aswell, which can serve as a mean of comparison.
James Chesterman, Classical Terracotta Figures
Must-Have!
A complete introduction to teraccotta figures from the mediterranean cultures, starting from 2000 b.c. to 500 a.d. Great for the collector, due to the numerous pictures taken from private collections.
Peter Kelsall, Lighting the Ancient World
My Favorite Book About Oil Lamps
I don't believe i'm overstating it, when I say this is the best book about antique oil lamps. With many pictures and illustrations you are taken through the styles of oil lamps throughout the mediterranean.
R. M. Cook, Greek Painted Pottery
Dedicated Classical Archaeology Books
If you're a true fan of greek pottery - then this book is definetly for you. It goes with great depth into the Protogeometric, Geometric, Black-figure, Red-figure styles and many more. You will surely learn a lot from this book, but it isn't for the faint-hearted.
Reynold Higgins, Minoan and Mycenaean Art
Interesting Overview of the Minoan and Mycenaeaen Culture.
This book doesn't focus exclusively on collectibles, but more about the general art, architecture and history of the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures. Super interesting and you'll definetly learn a lot.
Ruth Amiran, Ancient Pottery of The Holy Land
One of the most thorough and well written books on the subject of pottery from the Holy Lands. It goes through many of the different types of pottery - shapes, styles etc. I can highly recommend it! I've used it myself to identify which period a particular piece was from.
Robin Osborne, Archaic and Classical Greek Art
This is quite an interesting book! It doesn't merely go into the styles of pottery and vases, but looks at the entire greek culture, history, myths, politics and how these shaped the archaic and classical greek art.
Paul T. Nicholson, Egyptian Faience and Glass
Great introductory book to the subject of Egyptian faience and glass. Goes through the materials and production method, aswell as the different styles throughout the various dynasties and periods.
Colin A. Hope, Egyptian Pottery
A small book of just about 60 pages - however don't let that fool you. It is filled with a great deal of interesting knowledge about pottery manufacture, the historical development, functions of pottery and several other subjects.
