King Of The Confessors
by Thomas Hoving
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Book Summary Information
Author: Thomas HovingEdition: Unknown Binding
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1981-10-26
ISBN: 0671433881
Number of pages: 365
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Book Reviews of King Of The Confessors
Book Review: A story of the quest for an "incomparable" ivory cross.
Summary: 5 Stars
Hoving has a hyperactive mind, a mind that jumps to conclusions (his "gut feel" is always on) and is paranoid in nature. He is delightfully funny, condescending in his thought process, but very entertaining, informative and precise. His lure for exactness even causes him to risk coming up a "loser" with egg on his face.
The books flows easily because he entices the reader on every page with a deeper drive to resolve the mystery, learn the history and creation of the "incomparable" Bury St Edmunds cross. Did I mention the business dealings with a world of crooked con-artists, questionable characters, slime balls, shysters, liars and what appears to be the worse of the lot, other curators? The behind the scenes dealing to acquisition of the cross is heart breaking and at times unbearable. Hoving must have kept a very detailed personal diary/journal, because he has entirely recaptured the stress level that was so obviously apparent in acquiring the cross.
The research of the cross teaches the early development of the church philosophy through scripture from the earliest known Latin, Greek, and Hebrew texts. Hoving is no dummy, he knows research, art history, human behavior and he uncovers as remarkable story, a portion of which contains what may be some of the earliest written recordings of anti-Semitism.
The entire book is a great insight into the remarkable history of the cross, the approach of a curator not afraid to research for no other reason than to learn the truth! I gathered a deal of respect for the institutions of the world that maintain human history either in museums,libraries
or galleries. Without a doubt the book must have one of the best descriptions of the immensity of the Collecting Point. The description comes first handed with a quote from Jim Rorimer, curator of the Met. Taken on its own, it incorporates the side of a very often overlooked and under publicized topic of post WWII: the attempts to correct the wrongful appropriation of property taken by the raping, looting and pillaging of treasures by the Nazis.
KING OF THE CONFESSORS is a story that teaches in more areas imaginable. It is a must read for anyone interested in art, medieval English artifacts, church history, text/scripture translation, and the true meaning of a "New Testament" (in light of the "OLD"). It also teaches the importance of proper care for relics,archaeological finds,antiquities, and art not only as objects, but as fact.
History is usually written by the "winners", but emotional qualitites are real human traits often depicted and captured in art, sort of like history with "feelings". Hoving will give you a greater appreciation for art, relics/antiquities and artifacts, both on a historical and an emotional level.
Summary of King Of The Confessors
In the spring of 1955, after eight centuries of silence, a mysterious work of art, one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ever created in world history, suddenly turned up in the hands of a strange and secretive collector. Based on a true story.Saints Books
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