In 1972, Priscilla E. Muller, a researcher and curator at the prestigious US institution devoted to the study and preservation of Spanish art, The Hispanic Society of America, based in New York, published her masterpiece, "Jewels in Spain: 1500-1800", with the Societys backing. This book is a complete and perfectly documented treatise on the jewellery items created for the Spanish monarchies of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as focusing on the jewellery creators themselves and the patrons who commissioned the pieces.
In effect, this book, which features numerous pictures, has remained an essential work of reference for the study of Spanish jewellery during the reign of the Hapsburg and Bourbon Dynasties, extending as far as the rule of Charles IV. However, in spite of its importance, the work has only been published in English up until now. Forty years have passed since Dr. Muller completed the book and, in all this time, her monographic work has lost none of its relevance, continuing to be an excellent basic guide for the study of a fundamental aspect of Spanish art. However, it is quite impossible to find "Jewels in Spain: 1500-1800" today. For this reason, Ediciones El Viso has undertaken the task of carefully republishing the work, as revised and updated by the author, featuring new pictures based on photographs taken expressly for the purpose at hand and reproduced in full colour. Furthermore, this time the work will not only be produced in the English language, but also in Spanish.
As the passing of time has amply demonstrated, Priscilla E. Mullers work is an example of meticulous research within the history of art, one that has been conscientiously produced, extremely well documented and carefully revised. Founded on an extensive knowledge of Spanish art, of the corresponding historical and cultural context in which the jewellery-artisans carried out their work and the trading conditions for works of art, this book focuses on some of the most beautiful items ever created during the years of splendour enjoyed by the Spanish monarchy.
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