John Julius Norwich and others, The Burrell Collection. London: Collins and Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries, 1984.
Small quarto (27 x 20 cm), hard cover, dustwrapper, 160 pages, colour illustrations.
Very good condition.
Please read the blurb in the second image.
'In his Introduction to The Burrell Collection, John Julius Norwich describes the collection of historical and artistic objects amassed by the Glasgow shipowner, Sir William Burrell, as a "treasure house", and indeed it is. The result of a lifetime's buying, it is certainly one of the largest collections ever assembled by one person and represents in its 8,000 items over 4,000 years of artistic activity. Given to the City of Glasgow in 1944, the Collection has now found a permanent home in a stunning new building.
'The Burrell Collection is the story of the Collection, its creator and its home, and, above all, a guide to its treasures. Following John Julius Norwich's sparkling Introduction in which he assesses, with insight, the personality of its creator from the Collection itself, there is an account of Sir William Burrell by the Keeper of the Collection, Dr Richard Marks. Then, to put the Collection into its physical context, there is a description by the architect of the gallery, Barry Gasson, of the challenge that had to be faced - and triumphantly met - in accommodating a collection so diverse in range and history.
'Next, the Collection itself is described in a profusely illustrated and clearly written text. First there are the Hutton Castle Rooms, from Sir William's home in Berwickshire, which have been recreated in the gallery and contain many of the objects which Sir William had around him in his daily life, including splendid tapestries and Late Gothic sculpture. In line with the layout of the gallery, there then follow chapters on: Ancient Civilizations, including the arts of Iraq and Iran, Egypt, Greece and Rome; Oriental Arts, with sections on ceramics from China and the Near East, bronzes and jades from China, prints from Japan and carpets from Persia and India; Medieval Europe encompasses sculpture, church art, tapestries and stained glass; and Decorative Arts includes silver, glass, European ceramics and furniture; while finally Paintings considers works by Bellini and Rembrandt as well as some of those from the major collection of French 19th-century paintings.
'The texts have been written by the Keeper, Dr Marks, the Depute Keeper, Rosemary Scott, and Assistant Keepers James Thomson and Philip Vainker, in such a way that the objects are seen in their context, set against the periods they represent. As a result, the full range of the Collection is here, from Sumerian statuettes to Chinese porcelain, from medieval stained glass to delicate watercolours. Well over 200 colour photographs illustrate over 300 marvellous objects and also the gallery itself, not the least of the masterpieces awaiting the visitor to this unique Collection.'
