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The Wallace Collection has an internationally-renowned collection of French eighteenth-century art but perhaps lesser known today is their stunning collection of gilt-bronze objects. These bronzes d'ameublement - from clocks and mounted Sevres porcelain to wall lights and candelabra - epitomised the levels of luxury achieved in Parisian interiors. Highly expensive and expertly wrought, they illustrate the heights of skilled craftsmanship achieved by French bronze workers in the eighteenth cent...

An exact re-edition of the J.A.Allen 1989 edition.

A fresh look at the Eastern origins of Christopher Wren's architecture In this revelatory study of one of the great architects in British history, Vaughan Hart considers Christopher Wren's (1632-1723) interest in Eastern antiquity and Ottoman architecture, an interest that would animate much of his theory and practice. As the early modern understanding of antiquity broadened to include new discoveries at Palmyra and Persepolis, Wren disputed common assumptions about the European origins of Cla...

A beautifully illustrated investigation of the life, work, and legacy of the great 17th-century landscape and garden designer Andre Le Notre (1613-1700), principal gardener to Louis XIV, was France's greatest landscape and garden designer. The parks created by him at Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles are the supreme examples of the French 17th-century style of garden design. He was responsible also for the central pathway through the Tuileries, which became the grand axis of Paris running to the Ar...

The name Lancelot 'Capability' Brown (1716–83) has become synonymous with the eighteenth-century English landscape garden. Ruthlessly efficient, he could stake out the 'capabilities' of a particular terrain within an hour on horseback. Rising to the position of Master Gardener to George III, his trademark features included bald lawns, clumped trees, lakes and enclosing belts of woodland on the estate's perimeter, setting a park formula that lasted well into the next century. Laura Mayer presents...

Everyone knows Versailles: this palace that was the home of Kings such as Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI and which has become the symbol of the height of royalty because of its grandeur and that of its occupants. Few however know its secrets and hidden treasures. From Louis XIII's hunting pavilion to the wing where the Presidents of the 3rd and 4th Republics were elected, this palace keeps the secrets of history. In this book fascinating anecdotes are re-told by Pascal Bonafoux and accompani...

William Cavendish was a gifted horseman, prolific womaniser and skilled diplomat. Famously defeated at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644, he went into a long and miserable exile before returning to England in triumph on the restoration of King Charles II to the throne in 1660. But this is not just the story of that one remarkable man and the courtly world of King Charles I and his Cavaliers. More than that, Lucy Worsley brings to life the complex and fascinating household hierarchies of the sev...

A jewel of the University of Oxford, the Sheldonian Theatre stands out among the groundbreaking designs by the great British architect Sir Christopher Wren. Published to coincide with the 350th anniversary of the building's construction, this meticulously researched book takes a fresh look at the historical influences that shaped the Sheldonian's development, including the Restoration of the English monarchy and the university's commitment to episcopal religion. The book explains just how no...