Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

Gold: The Impossible Collection 'Special Edition'

About the Item

Gold—pure, indestructible, dazzling: Since the dawn of time, this precious metal has generated countless fantasies and beliefs. Whether it leads powerful rulers to the afterlife, casts a delicate glow on the Buddhist pagodas of Southeast Asia, illuminates the halos of saints, adds brilliance to the crowns of kings and popes, gleams on haute couture runways or glitters on a rapper’s grill, gold is an eternal symbol of wealth and glory, the prized element’s highly malleable nature lending itself to infinite metamorphoses. What accounts for such a lasting and universal fascination? Thanks to its irresistible luminosity and remarkable resilience, gold is the ideal medium to symbolize both visible and invisible forces. Artists from Gustav Klimt to Andy Warhol and Yves Klein have exalted its metaphysical and fantastic nature. Ancient Egyptians regarded gold as “the flesh of the gods,” and Louis XIV, the Sun King, adopting Apollo as his symbol, transformed Versailles into a palace bathed in gold and light, setting a standard for all the other royal courts of old Europe.As a symbol of victory, it imparts a glowing aura to the new gods of awards podiums and sports stadiums.Gold has always added a divine spark to any human endeavor. The dazzling effect of the hypnotic metal is universal, and it remains the supreme representation of luxury. With insightful texts by art historian Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter, this handcrafted Ultimate Collection volume showcases 100 of the rarest and most precious treasures marrying natural splendor and human craftsmanship, from amazingly detailed artifacts of ancient global civilizations to surprising modern creations by artists Man Ray, Hu Qin and Chris Burden. The book is also available in a special edition handcrafted volume nestled in a luxury gold-leaf covered case with a clear sliding lid infused with gold flakes. Art historian Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter is a journalist and art critic, regularly contributing to art publications including Beaux-Arts, L’OEil, L’Objet d’art, Le Journal des arts, and Connaissance des arts. She has published numerous books on primitive arts and the art of adornment, and she curated the exhibition Voyage dans ma tête, la collection de coiffes ethniques d’Antoine de Galbert at the Maison Rouge in Paris in 2010. With Assouline she has published many books, including Ethnic Style (2001), the two-volume Primal Arts (2006), “The Panther in Art,” for Cartier: Panthère (2015) and Les Mondes de Chaumet (2018).
  • Creator:
    Assouline Publishing (Manufacturer)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)Width: 17.8 in (45.22 cm)Depth: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    2022
  • Production Type:
    New & Custom(Current Production)
  • Estimated Production Time:
    Available Now
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    NEW YORK, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 97816498014321stDibs: LU2549332770502
More From This SellerView All
  • Cartier: The Impossible Collection
    By Assouline Publishing
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    One of the world’s premier luxury jewelers since the nineteenth century, Cartier evokes a world of artistry and beauty, a legacy of unequaled prestige. By 1909, Cartier was the first...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Books

    Materials

    Silk

  • Rolex: The Impossible Collection
    By Assouline Publishing
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    For more than a century, Rolex stands apart as the most coveted and most legendary brand of watches in the world. A Rolex connotes many things: the quintessence of the luxury timepiece, a tool of power for movers and shakers, the symbol of passage into adulthood. New labels pop up, styles come and go, but the brand at the top never changes. Ever the record setter—the Daytona that had belonged to Paul Newman was auctioned by Phillips in New York in October 2017 for $17.8 million—it comes as no surprise that Rolex is the most collected watch label in the world. The history of Rolex is rooted in the visionary spirit of its founder, Hans Wilsdorf. In 1905, young Wilsdorf founded a company in London for the distribution of timepieces, but his true dream was to produce wristwatches—in their infancy at the time, and not very precise—that would be technically durable and reliable, and supremely elegant. The company first concentrated on producing the highest quality movements, and this quest for precision rapidly led to the first wristwatch in the world...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary American Books

    Materials

    Metal

  • Formula 1: the Impossible Collection
    By Assouline Publishing
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    A six-point safety harness wraps over your shoulders and between your legs, a head and neck brace clamps down your chest. The world ahead is visible only above a rim at eye level; the world behind is seen only through two mirrors little bigger than cigarette boxes. The start lights begin to illuminate red, and when they extinguish, your life will enter another dimension: this is not a fighter jet or a spacecraft, you are on the starting grid of a Formula One track, strapped into the world’s most technologically advanced racing car. The turbocharged engine, with more than 1,000 horsepower, is about to kick you in the backside, hurtling to 100 kph in 2.5 seconds, careening toward the first corner of the track. For the average reader, even driving a single lap of a Grand Prix would be impossible. But for the world’s twenty best racing drivers in the series’ ten teams, it is a way of life that is extreme in almost every facet. Selected by veteran F1 journalist Brad Spurgeon, Formula 1: The Impossible Collection chronicles the milestones that lifted Formula One from a gentlemen’s club in 1950 to a global sport with hundreds of millions of fans around the world, third in popularity only to the Olympics and World Cup soccer. Highlighting exceptional technical innovations, remarkable drivers’ achievements and exciting race finishes, this volume illuminates immortal names such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Bruce McLaren, Enzo Ferrari, Colin Chapman, Bernie Ecclestone, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Jean Todt, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary American Books

    Materials

    Metal

  • Chanel The Impossible Collection
    By Assouline Publishing
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    More than any other designer of her era, Gabrielle Chanel had the ability to predict the evolution of contemporary fashion. Self-inventor extraordinaire, Chanel revolutionized the lifestyle of her time by inventing a modern concept of luxe minimalism, elevating humble fabrics such as jersey and tweed to couture status, giving birth to a new Silhouette both sophisticated and discreet, setting her stamp on the twentieth century with her modern spirit of understated luxury. The house of Chanel represents modern fashion. Under its founder, the style of the modern woman was invented, through the image of Gabrielle Chanel herself. She dressed women to be free, and her emancipated clothes reflected the shifting landscape of society. Her designs fundamentally affected what we wear, and how we wear it. The work of the house under her successor Karl Lagerfeld has transformed fashion anew: He drew the template for a fashion designer reviving a moribund house with elements from its own history. Just as Chanel created modern fashion, Lagerfeld in turn established the blueprint of the modern fashion house. She reshaped the clothes women wear, he reshaped the industry that makes them. This book is a literary museum exhibition, a curated selection of 100 iconic and signature looks of the house of Chanel, from the timeless Little Black Dress to the impeccably simple tweed suit, the apothecary-style perfume bottle, two-tone pumps...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Books

    Materials

    Other

  • Yachts: The Impossible Collection
    By Assouline Publishing
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    Since time immemorial, monarchs, nobility and the aristocracy have yearned to spend their leisure time on the water. From Cleopatra’s fabled luxury barge to Her Majesty’s Royal Yacht Britannia, from elegant Jazz Age vessels such as Nahlin, once chartered by King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, to the swinging ’60s Hollywood royalty invited aboard Aristotle Onassis’ Christina O, the yachting scene has always attracted celebrities, high society and the top 0.1%. But with over three thousand sizable yachts currently in the global fleet, not to mention those legendary vessels that are sadly no longer in existence, how do we distinguish the crème de la crème of this exclusive breed? Yachts: The Impossible...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary American Books

    Materials

    Rubber

  • The Impossible Collection of Fashion
    By Assouline Publishing
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    In this limited edition, Ultimate Collection format linen clamshell and handmade oversized book, Valerie Steele flexes her curatorial muscle by showcasi...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Books

    Materials

    Linen

You May Also Like
  • The Art of Patronage, The Daywood Collection, First Edition
    Located in valatie, NY
    The Art of Patronage, The Daywood Collection. Charleston: Huntington Museum of Art, 2017. First Edition hardcover with dust jacket. 122 pp. A catalogue of works from The Daywood Collection at the Huntington Museum of Art. The collection includes oils by: Childe Hassam, landscape and figurative oils...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary American Books

    Materials

    Paper

  • Sotheby's: The Garbisch Collection, Volume Four, First Edition
    Located in valatie, NY
    Sotheby's: The Garbisch collection, Vol. IV, May 1980. Important American furniture, and Related Decorative Arts. First edition softcover, 184 lots of important furniture photographed...
    Category

    Vintage 1980s American Books

    Materials

    Paper

  • American Paintings from the Manoogian Collection, First Edition
    Located in valatie, NY
    American paintings from the Manoogian Collection by the National Gallery of Art. Washington: Natl. Gallery of Art, 1989. First edition. 203 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Publish...
    Category

    20th Century American Books

    Materials

    Paper

  • American Paintings from the Manoogian Collection, First Edition
    Located in valatie, NY
    American paintings from the Manoogian Collection by the National Gallery of Art. Washington: Natl. Gallery of Art, 1989. First edition softcover. 203 pages. Published in conjunction ...
    Category

    20th Century American Books

    Materials

    Paper

  • 1993 Happy Holidays Special Edition Barbie Doll
    Located in New York, NY
    Special edition. Mattel, happy holidays special edition Barbie. 1993. Doll is featured in her red gown and long, blond tresses. Includes box.
    Category

    1990s Toys and Dolls

    Materials

    Fabric, Plastic

  • Catalogue of the Vernay Collection A Special Sale Prior to Retirement, 1st Ed
    Located in valatie, NY
    Catalogue of the Vernay Collection of Early English Furniture, Porcelains, Old English Silver, Glassware and Other Art Objects, "A Special Sale Prior ...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s American Books

    Materials

    Paper

Recently Viewed

View All