Four Centuries of Silver: Personal Adornment in the Qing Dynasty and After

Rating:
Summary: A beautifully written and photographed treasure
Review: For anyone who has a love affair with China and or silver adornment this book is a find. For those of you who don't, read it anyway and you will be delightfully surprised. Margaret Duda is obviously a scholar and an immensely readable one. Her son, Paul Duda, who did the photography is equally talented. I'm buying this book for Christmas presents for family and friends.

Rating:
Summary: A World Revealed
Review: Margaret Duda's new book magically transported me into a place and time I'd previously known little about: China's epic Qing Dynasty, with its fascinating legends, myths, customs, religious beliefs, and cultural norms. The author astutely displays hundreds of beautiful artifacts - pendants, symbolic locks, grooming sets, eating kits, embroidery-needle cases - to bring this vanished world to life.

Rating:
Summary: A GORGEOUS BOOK WITH FASCINATING HISTORY
Review: This is an uncomparable tome for anyone interested in adornment or Chinese social history. The level of scholarship, depth of information, and narrative ease will impress academics and laymen. The photography has obviously been done by an accomplished visual artist. Such an incredible collection and wealth of research has obviously been done as a labour of love. I hope Mrs. Duda's love for her subject continues in many other volumes. Well Done!