Library Journal Review

Director of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Kaltsas (Olympia) has updated and augmented previous, less thorough publications on the topic, creating a comprehensive catalog of every sculpture on display in the museum. Presented chronologically, the catalog entries include type, description, provenance, and bibliography. While the catalog takes up most of the space, 17 pages are devoted to a brief but excellent overview of the development of Greek sculptures and the societies that created them. Three quarters of the 800 cataloged items are presented in black and white, with about a quarter of them not pictured at all. In addition, 30 full- or double-page color plates show the works that best represent each of the time periods covered (geometric, archaic, classical, Hellenistic, and Roman). The index provides catalog, inventory, and page numbers, and the bibliography has 155 items but only 35 in English, the most recent of which is dated 1997. Because this overview assumes previous knowledge of Greek art and political history, it is not suitable for the general reader or beginning student, who would find Nigel Spivey's Understanding Greek Sculpture: Ancient Meanings, Modern Readings more accessible. Recommended for large academic or specialized collections.-Nancy J. Mactague, Aurora Univ. Lib., IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.