{"title":"Books by Diana Scarisbrick","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780500291122","title":"Rings","description":"Now available in paperback, this book devotes itself exclusively to rings, considering them thematically rather than chronologically. The author, a world expert, has rich historical and literary knowledge. As she considers rings in all their forms she makes us delight in them as works of art, and makes their context come alive through paintings, drawings and vivid quotations.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56290445033845,"sku":"9780500291122","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780500291122_e4ac68d3-588f-468b-9ba1-50529183e3f7.jpg?v=1786013976"},{"product_id":"9781898565161","title":"Margaret de Flahaut (1788-1867)","description":"Margaret Mercer Elphinstone (1788-1867), with her powerful mind and independent spirit, was never daunted by adversity as she sought to realize her ambitions for her family against the background of intellectual upheaval and social and political change which followed the French Revolution and the end of the ancien régime. The turning-point in her life was her controversial marriage in 1817 with the general Charles de Flahaut (1785-1870), which, contrary to all expectations, resulted in one of the most successful partnerships in the 'auld alliance' between France and Scotland. Whereas the life of her husband, the dashing Napoleonic general and diplomat Charles de Flahaut, is well known, Margaret has remained in the shadows. Yet this biographical study, based on unpublished correspondence in the Archives Nationales, Paris, reveals her to have been the more interesting of the two. It shows how much he depended on her brains, political judgment and artistic taste as well as her fortune to guide him in his career. Her lively, observant but wicked pen takes us with her on visits to Talleyrand, to the marquis de Lafayette, to the duchesse de Praslin, to house parties in stately homes of England and Scotland. Acknowledged a superb hostess, her descriptions of the menus, and entertainments organized in her homes in Scotland, London and Paris, and at the Flahaut embassies in Vienna and in London capture the flavor of those cosmopolitan gatherings. A lifelong liberal in politics and an upholder of Whig principles, her politicomanie inspires sharp comments on the opponents of Reform in England and on the self-seeking ministers of Louis-Philippe in France.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308617150837,"sku":"9781898565161","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781898565161_451a224e-f168-4099-a56d-52b52fb1fa30.jpg?v=1786029376"},{"product_id":"9781912168217","title":"I Like My Choyse – Posy Rings from the Griffin Collection","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56309295808885,"sku":"9781912168217","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781912168217_f92d4d3c-c8d6-4681-94d5-311a3068be45.jpg?v=1786030392"},{"product_id":"9781915401069","title":"The Art of the Ring – Highlights from the Griffin Collection","description":"The distinguished private collection, known as the Griffin Collection, comprises in its entirety examples of every category of ring – signet, devotional, memorial, decorative – dating from antiquity to modern times. This catalogue focuses on about one hundred special rings, chosen as highlights of this extensive collection with the aim to offer the reader a real history of the art of the ring across the ages.   Covering as they do so many facets of civilization, rings tell us more about the hopes, aspirations, taste and sentiments of our ancestors than any other jewels surviving from the past. Moreover, the examples from the Griffin Collection, which have been assembled with taste and discernment over several decades, are not only rare but also of unusually high quality and intrinsic value. As well as being aesthetically attractive, these rings offer us a glimpse into the lives of their owners, as becomes evident in the vivid account offered by Diana Scarisbrick, one of the world’s leading jewellery historians.   The collection illustrates the many uses of rings—as seals needed for business, in expressing religious belief, political loyalties and personal interests such as theatre going, hunting, classical art and astrology. Some demonstrate high rank and commemorate great historical occasions; others dating from the Middle Ages to Victorian England mark the major events of human existence – love, marriage and death – with rings bearing symbols and inscriptions. Often connected with historical figures, monarchs, notably Charles II and William IV or Isabella Zápolya, Queen of Hungary, but also with popes or artists, such as the Romantic poet Lord Byron. Each ring reveals personal information about the people who wore them and the societies in which they lived. An unusually high proportion of the rings have distinguished later provenance, coming from celebrated collectors: George Spencer 4th Duke of Marlborough, Constantine Ionides, Ernest Guilhou, Ralph Harari and Maurice de Rothschild.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56313180422517,"sku":"9781915401069","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781915401069_e9547799-e32d-4ecf-a032-1ac01fa47879.jpg?v=1786030553"},{"product_id":"royal-goldsmiths","title":"Royal Goldsmiths","description":"The partnership of Philip Rundell and John Bridge began in London toward the end of the eighteenth century and went on to become the greatest firm of goldsmiths, jewelers and medalists of the age. Its stable of distinguished artists, headed by the sculptor John Flaxman, was the driving force in the adoption of a new imperial style in English silver. Later, the firm created jewelry and silver in the historicist and naturalistic styles and was at the forefront of the Gothic revival. Among the firm's customers were the Prince Regent, later King George IV, and such notable figures as William Beckford, Thomas Hope, Lord Castlereagh, Prince Lieven and the Duke of Wellington. Known as 'Oil' and 'Vinegar', Rundell and Bridge were of wildly contrasting personalities. While Philip Rundell was an irascible taskmaster deemed to be the best judge of gemstones in London, the urbane John Bridge, described by a contemporary as the 'complete courtier', was the public face of the firm. He guided the Prince Regent in assembling a magnificent collection of gold and silver works, both antique and new, which today forms part of the Royal Collection.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483443667317,"sku":"9780952432234","price":19.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780952432234.jpg?v=1786178608"},{"product_id":"portrait-diamonds-of-the-romanovs","title":"Portrait Diamonds of the Romanovs","description":"A lavish, in-depth history of the portrait diamond in RussiaAmong all the precious historical jewels, few are as precious or rare as the portrait diamond—a miniature covered with a flat diamond, unique for its shape, perfection, and clarity. This publication examines the history of the portrait diamond in Russia, where this rare and unusual form achieved its greatest height under the patronage of the Romanovs. Of 55 recorded portrait diamonds, only 36 are extant today. This book focuses on an extraordinary private collection representing almost one-third of them.   The two-volume study is published as a complementary set which features new research, remarkable photographs, and diagnostic analysis of the genre of the portrait diamond. Volume I is illustrated with spectacular photographs of all the portrait diamonds, along with short descriptions of each and a summary introduction. Volume II includes a longer introduction that examines the portrait diamond within the history of the genre, with references to comparable examples made for members of the English and French courts, and that traces the history of the portrait diamond in Russia.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57510031130997,"sku":"9781915401113","price":70.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781915401113.jpg?v=1791213047"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-diana-scarisbrick.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}