Term Paper on "History of Adornment"

Term Paper 6 pages (1912 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

History of Adornment - Jewelry Talks

About the Author

Richard Klein is settled in Ithaca, New York. He is a lecturer of French at the Cornell University and has also written 'Eat Fat' and 'Cigarettes Are Sublime'.

Klein has written an odd and compelling story which is by turns loathsome, shrewd, catty, humorous, and highlights the author's fascination for celebrity gossip. He's confident when regarding semiotics, the significance and the esoteric of unconventional sexuality. The writer tries to articulate jewels as a metaphor for female genitalia.

About the Book

The novel is formulated as a letter extended from Abby Zinzo, the main character to the writer's imaginary niece, Zeem. The novel explains how Zinzo plans to bequeath his beautiful jewelry collection to her and clarifies what it is and what it means to him. Abby Zinzo could be described as campy, contemptible, *****y, and quite a bit more than over the edge, and in his own words as "a cross between Auntie Mame and Louis the Sun King (Randomhouse.com)."

Abby's devotion to delight in life has exceeded all boundaries and nothing can describe that more perfectly than his pleasure for possessing, bearing, or simply reflecting on the shimmering objects that women and men always embellish themselves with.

This humorous book can be described as partly novel and partly hypothesis on jewelry. The novel exhibits Abby's life and the lessons he learned while living it, leaving the book behind as a legacy along with his anthology of valuable stones to Zeem, his niece. Abby throughout the novel shows contrasts of characters, sometimes he's competent and industrial, sometimes a fast-talking New Yorker, sometimes he creates a glowing lucidity and splendor in his writing, sometimes professorial, and sometimes he's almost immature (Randomhouse.com). He even discusses his individual sexual record, cross-dressing, and the race of the transgenders, even ties together various topics including tattooing and piercing - and jewelry and more jewelry.

There's a superior diversity of techniques used to talk about celebrated women, eminent jewelry, speech, sexuality, speculations of gender, fashion, love, and wealth - along with insinuation, scandal, and a handful information about ornaments and embellishment, and erotics - to make an group of points (Randomhouse.com).

Analysis of the Book

No reader can question the shrewdness and wisdom of Mr. Klein; however, it is also important to note that the novel is also extremely enjoyable and adventurous. Book lovers would love to read this novel again and again, just to grasp the unparallel drama it reveals all the way through (Randomhouse.com).

The daring and impudent accounts of the book have been merged with specific and comprehensive documentation on gems, jewelry and their possessors. Furthermore, this blend was done in such a way that it showed consistency and coherency all through the book. The twofold singular voices seemed to engage extremely well (Randomhouse.com).

His intimate fascination is not only with the gems and jewelry, but also with the beautiful women who wear the jewelry. He writes about its enchantment, its tradition, its magnetism in history and on the roads, in public and in the most personal circumstances (Randomhouse.com). He simply cannot stop himself from thinking about all those beautiful women of the 20TH century who have possessed glorious gems and jewelry, women such as Duchess of Windsor and Elizabeth Taylor. He is a romantic writer and he keeps on dreaming about the jewelry and about the women who have worn them (Randomhouse.com).

Throughout the book, he has given his observations on the lives and philosophies of beautification so as to comprehensively recognize and value jewelry for purposes that are deeply intimate, purposes that are threaded to his personal life and love. However, one of the short comings of the book is that the writer has highlighted some of the topics is great detail. These detailed topics are sometimes a pleasure to read whereas other times a boring task.

Conclusion

All in all, it is important to note that this book is all about fashion, money, women, philosophy and literature. Furthermore, the book gives valuable and comprehensive insights on jewelry and gems, such as the importance of size and the status of the provider and the value of the dresser (Frontlist.com).

This book is a bold and confident composition of fiction, a genuine effort to mirror the culture of fashion and jewelry. Furthermore, this book can be described as a scholarly tour de influence, an arousing and enchanting blend of various manifestations of fashion, an exceptional blend that is bound to and gratify and convince the most meaningful, as well as, the most over-romantic readers (Frontlist.com).

Lastly, it will not be an over exaggeration to assert that the book is extremely romantic, erotic, sexy and funny. The book is partly a novel, covering the lives of all the famous women, and partly a hypothesis on the philosophy of jewelry (Frontlist.com). The book is a lot more than just an index of superb jewelry, since, it never stops to thrill and excite the reader. In the end, all one can say is that the book is intense, mesmerizing, and dazzling with its own personal passion.

After reading the book, the reader observes the obsession the writer had with not only jewelry itself, but also with the great women who have worn it (Women's Jewelry Association). He wrote about its charm, its custom, its magnetism in history and on the streets, in public as well as in the most personal situations. Thus, the jewelry of that era reminds about Elizabeth Taylor's time and one gets to learn more about gems and jewelry than one may have imagined possible. This even includes as why size really matters when buying jewelry, and in the world of gems, what it says about the giver and the wearer (Women's Jewelry Association).

My Life

About the Author

Benvenuto Cellini was beloved in Renaissance Florence. He was one of the mystifying, larger-than-life figures of the Italian Renaissance and was not only a famous sculptor, author, soldier and goldsmith, but also a thug and revengeful killer

His life was as vibrant and enticing as his creations. His work of that of sculptor and goldsmith includes the well-known salt-cellar made for the King of France, and the statue of Perseus with the head of the Medusa (Oxford University Press).

Cellini was also a man of action and took part in the Sack of Rome in 1527. He was unpredictable, ardent, and proud, and at the same time was capable of committing criminal acts such as fighting and sodomy. He was numbered among his patrons popes and kings and members of the Medici family (Oxford University Press).

About the book

His book "My Life" is an enthralling description of sixteenth-century France and Italy, which, has been written, with all the dynamism of a novel. The book encapsulates the novelty and verve of the original and based on the latest critical edition. It is the study in detail about the central event in the author's narration, the casting of the statue of Perseus.

My Life" by Benvenuto Cellini is thus, one of the most brilliant and exciting ever written book. The descriptions of artistic techniques such as bronze casting along with a fascinating story of life and conspiracy in 16th century Italy makes the book more verve. It is the new translation, which, is based on the latest critical edition of the text (Oxford University Press).

Analysis of the Book

Even though there are books that has been written about the renaissance but none as entertaining, rewarding, and interesting as Cellini's who was also the most well-known glodsmith and artist of that era. The book is straight and openly written and even serves as a tour guide of Florence for the many adventurous. Thus, the book is certainly recommended to all.

Furthermore, the author narrates about other artist of that period, famous fights between artists and their masters. Regardless of the mastermind of the man, his book is interesting and is considered to be first hand document as to what it was like to live in that era (Oxford University Press).

Cellini has depicted events and places of that time without holding back any disrespect to any. The reader also learns about his musical talents and his childhood, where he described his father beating him on the ears so that he may leave the lasting impression of the amazing sight of a salamander in the fireplace. Furthermore, the core of the book is set in Rome, where he meets the Pope and later was imprisoned in the Fortress of castle Sant'Angelo, which was the same made famous by Puccini's Tosca (Indiana).

Since Cellini was not just one of the most well- known sculptor, connoseur, lover and fighter but also jewellers of the Renaissance period. The book, however, has not been much blessed with modesty, but filled with conspiracy and obsession, which of course is a fascinating one too. The writer is self-indulgent and yet passionate about his art. The readers get to know a whole slice… READ MORE

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