Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-247) and index.
Contents:
The mercurial charms of the mirror: on seeing and being seen -- Mouth full of petals, veins full of wax: on stealing, eating, praying, and playing with flowers -- Bright blue, cursed cuts: on gemstones, worry stones, and her majesty the diamond -- Spiraling: on the ancient appeal of shells, pearls, and mollusk-made wonders -- Live fast, die pretty: on wearing war paint, faces full of lead, and the makeup of makeup -- Dirty, sweet, floral, foul: the rank of backstory of perfumery -- Women and worms: The prismatic sheen of silk and its fairy-tale logic -- Deceptions and damnation: the molten glow of screens, the beauty of stained glass, and the treachery of spectacles -- Bone white, paper thin: on porcelain dishes, pale faces, and the complicated act of setting a table -- The exhalations of the earth: on marble statues, engineered stones, white lungs, and small lambs.
Summary:
In these deeply researched essays, a Paris Review contributor blends science, history, and memoir to explore human obsession with gorgeous things, exposing the fraught histories of makeup, silk, jewels, perfume, and other objects, helping readers to ethically partake in the beauty of the world around them.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.