Cultural Treasures of the World: From the Relics of Ancient Empires to Modern-Day Icons

by D.K. Publishing

Take a guided tour through history and discover the most precious, iconic, and celebrated objects ever created.

Revered, admired, and protected - every country and culture has certain artifacts that are prized above all others. Cultural Treasures of the World brings together more than 200 of these objects, exploring the fascinating and unique stories behind each of them.

From the Bust of Nefertiti to the Benin Bronzes, and the Altamira cave paintings to Van Gogh's Sunflowers, these artefacts and artworks are revered for their beauty, artistry, or historical significance - and often all three at once. Discover how and why they were created, unravel the hidden meanings and symbolism they contain, and learn about the cultural legacy they have left behind.

So what are you waiting for? Dive into this awe-inspiring history of art book to

- An immersive "visual tour" approach, combining stunning photography with accessible text and annotation
- Feature boxes on cultural influences, symbolism, and technique offer additional context
- Covers a wide range of regions, periods, and media - including sculpture, painting, jewellery, tapestry, rock art, documents, sacred objects, and more

A treasure trove of human creativity that offers a fresh and unforgettable new perspective on civilisations and societies, Cultural Treasures of the World is the perfect gift for gallery- and museum-lovers, and armchair travelers everywhere. Doubling up as a great coffee table book, Cultural Treasures of the World combines stunning photography with detailed annotation to highlight key elements of technique, artistry, and symbolism, making this museum in a book perfect for anyone with an interest in art, history and culture alike.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Coffee Table Books

360 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2022

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[AlenGarou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Da brava Nathan Drake girlie, non potevo certo resistere all’attrazione di questo catalogo. Anche se considerando quanto costa probabilmente facevo prima a reperirlo nel tempio di una qualche civiltà perduta in mezzo alla giungla.
Reni venduti a parte, ho trovato quest’opera davvero ben fatta e varia.
Certo, a causa dei miei troppi anni passati a studiare storia dell’arte ho trovato alcune sezioni un po’ ripetitive, ma nel complesso riesce ad equilibrare bene l’arte europea con quella mondiale. E sono proprio i reperti proveniente dall’Asia, dall’Africa e dall’Oceania ad aver catturato il mio interesse. Bisogna variare dopotutto.
Inoltre è diviso per periodi storici, con tanto di descrizioni specifiche, curiosità e termini tecnici che sono d’aiuto non solo come ripasso, ma anche per imparare qualcosa di nuovo.
Quindi se vi piace l’arte o vi piace semplicemente vagare con la mente spacciandovi per i prossimi Indiana Jones, questo catalogo vi aiuterà a comprendere l’importanza di certi reperti e come ci hanno aiutato a comprendere meglio la nostra storia su questo pianeta.

[SheLove2Read]

I'm going to have to revisit this on a tablet. It is virtually impossible to read this on a phone, even on with a large screen. I think the publisher did a terrible job with the formatting of this ebook.

[MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that will make you feel like you are viewing works of art in a history museum.

I hope that these historical cultural heritages and works of art are carefully preserved by the countries where they were first created.

Egyptian grave goods should be owned by the Egyptian state and stored in the country's historical museums.

It is a strange sight to see so many Egyptian mummies arranged side by side in the British Museum's Mummy Gallery.

Hundreds of years ago, during wars, it was inevitable that cultural heritage and artifacts would be stolen or plundered, but we should start working now to return cultural heritage to their local locations.

[ツツ]

Turns out many of these artifacts I had never heard of. A very fun read. I particularly enjoyed the diagrams introducing the manufacturing process when they have them, and the size of a hand for reference (albeit an adult male hand) to put the scale into perspective.

Snack read 9 of 2025
read in a library with natural and overhead lighting

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully done book showing an amazing collection of artifacts from around the world. Enjoyed the way each artifact was displayed including size reference points and details you may nor have learned in other books .

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved all the ancient jewelry highlighted in this book.

[Studvet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Tells you the essential basics and highlights features of these works. Extremely informative in an interesting way.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Amazing variety of artifacts, many of which were new to me. Beautiful color pictures throughout.
Very enjoyable read, making learning easy.

[LudmilaM · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Collection of cultural artefact from all over the world. Excellent for amateur studying of history & art, or as a present.