Name: The Forbidden City - The Palace at the Heart of Chinese Culture (Impossible Collection) | Ian Johnson
Brand: ASSOULINE UK
SKU: 58e1a24bdf8b3f18ed066d202d1640ce
Price: 3999 AED
Availability: InStock

The Forbidden City - The Palace at the Heart of Chinese Culture (Impossible Collection) | Ian Johnson

For more than six centuries, the Forbidden City has awed all those who have travelled from near and far to explore its 900 golden-roofed buildings, set amid moats, gardens, and plazas, where thousands of people lived and worked in service of the world's largest and most sophisticated pre-modern empire. Marco Polo called it “the greatest Palace that ever was;” Simon Leys praised its architectural genius; and Franz Kafka viewed it as an impressive yet alarming symbol of power.In this compelling addition to Assouline's Ultimate Collection, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ian Johnson guides readers through the magnificent and storied palace built by China's Yongle Emperor to serve as the seat of the Ming dynasty. Weaving in history and events of the past six centuries and featuring more than 100 photographs, artworks, and historical artifacts, this luxury tome conjures life in this imperial sphere-a small city unto itself, in which soldiers, eunuchs, concubines, and merchants resided alongsi…

3,999.-

Chinese Art - The Impossible Collection | Adrian Cheng

Over the last century, China has experienced a period of growth more rapid and utterly transforming than any other nation has experienced in modern history. How can we begin to understand the country that has emerged from such a dramatic era of change? Perhaps the answer can be found in China's art. Certainly, that is what renowned art collectors Adrian Cheng and John Dodelande argue in their forthcoming volume, Chinese Art: The Impossible Collection. After all, China's history as a land of enormous influence stretches back to its dynastic past, and the nation's art has always been in conversation with its customs.The most highly anticipated volume in Assouline's exclusive Ultimate series, Chinese Art: The Impossible Collection spotlights 100 works of contemporary art that reveal the social, political, and cultural evolution of a nation on the rise. Thoughtfully curated by Cheng and Dodelande, the 100 works are presented in chronological order, beginning with traditional paintings from…

4,050.-

The Impossible Collection of Cigars | Aaron Sigmond

"I drink a great deal. I sleep a little, and I smoke cigar after cigar. That is why I am in two-hundred-percent form."- Winston ChurchillIn the highly anticipated new volume in Assouline's bestselling Ultimate Collection, The Impossible Collection of Cigars envisions the ultimate humidor brimming with the most remarkable cigars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries from the most prestigious makers. Like the pop of the Champagne cork, the flick of the lighter or the strike of the matchand the first draw of the smoke are synonymous with celebration, relaxation, and comradery. A luxurious pause from the world around, an exceptional, hand-rolled cigar has cemented itself as a civilized passion and genteel hobby over the course of centuries.The Impossible Collection of Cigars is a bid for readers to journey to the fabled Cuban tobacco farms, get up close and personal with the torcedores (master cigar rollers) as they discover the world's most commendable and coveted cigars. Considerin…

4,650.-

Chanel - The Impossible Collection | Assouline

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."- Gabrielle ChanelMore 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 hou…

4,050.-

Riva Aquarama - The Impossible Collection | Michael Verdon

When it comes to glamour and high style on the seas, there's nothing more captivating than the Aquarama. Dreamed up by the legendary Carlo Riva, the run-about wooden speed has become an icon of Italian design and the Riva Aquarama book, edited by Assouline, celebrates its 60th Anniversary. Beloved for its clean lines, mahogany, glistening chrome details and signature robin's egg-blue and cream upholstery, the Aquarama reflected la dolce vita optimism of early-'60s Italy; it's impossible to picture the glittering Côte d'Azur and coasts of Europe without visions of endless summers spent lounging on the back of the boat in the warm summer sun, and the gentle roar of the engine as the Aquarama cuts through the surf.The Riva icon enjoyed a mythical status and was beloved by movie stars, heads of state and royalty - everyone from Brigitte Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor, Gunter Sachs and the royal family of Monaco, among countless other luminaries, have been enchanted by the Aquarama's spell. Of th…

4,650.-

The Impossible Collection of Cars | Dan Neil

"The car has become...an article of dress without which we feel uncertain, unclad, and incomplete." - Marshall McLuhanIt is the dream of many to own the world's most beautifully designed automobiles, but most often only a handful of collectors ever come close. Now, The Impossible Collection of Cars makes that dream come true, showcasing the one hundred most exceptional cars of the twentieth century in ASSOULINE's third volume in the Impossible Collection series. Each luxury automobile-from the 1909 Blitzen Benz to a 1996 McLaren F1-was chosen for its revolutionary engineering, magnificent lines, and head-turning capabilities. Assouline is pleased to announce this exquisite tome, which features cars owned by celebrities like Marlene Dietrich, Ralph Lauren, Greta Garbo, Pablo Picasso, and Elvis Presley. This Impossible Collection volume is presented on cotton paper in a beautiful black rubber clamshell box with a cutout metal plate.Dan Neil is a Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive columnis…

4,650.-

Formula 1 - The Impossible Collection | Brad Spurgeon

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 …

4,650.-

The Impossible Collection of Warhol | Eric Shiner

Andy Warhol's explosive Pop Art and sharp commentary on advertising and celebrity culture are renowned and deeply relevant even decades after their creation.Though Warhol himself could be a polarizing figure both personally and professionally, there is no doubt that he was a pioneer of the Pop movement, and today, as a result, his works regularly fetch astronomical prices.In this evocative addition to Assouline's Ultimate Collection, Warhol expert and former Andy Warhol Museum director Eric Shiner curates the 100 quintessential, unique works that define the evolution of this illustrious artist, tracing Warhol's dynamic career from the late forties to the end of the eighties and creating a stunning compendium whose pieces, due to their rarity, value, and prestige as part of a museum or other collection, could simply never all be acquired by a single collector.Casual art lovers know Campbell's Soup Cans and the Marilyn Diptych, but Andy Warhol: The Impossible Collection goes deeper, reve…

4,050.-

The Impossible Collection of Fashion | Valerie Steele

"When a woman smiles, then her dress should smile too."- Madeleine VionnetASSOULINE is pleased to announce its second volume of the Impossible Collection, The Impossible Collection Fashion. In this limited edition, Ultimate Collection format linen clamshell and handmade oversized book, Valerie Steele flexes her curatorial muscle by showcasing the most iconic dresses of the twentieth century. From Poiretto Pucci, Doucet to Dior, Vionnet to Valentino, Steele selects one hundred dresses that caused a stir either on the runway or entering a room and ultimately inspired new directions in fashion. Steele's selections include Paul Poiret's figure-liberating 1907 gown, Madame Grès's sublimely draped goddess creation from 1938, Jean Paul Gaultier's shockingly exaggerated cone-bust corset dress circa 1984, and Hussein Chalayan's awe-inspiring remote-control fiberglass Airplane dress from 2000. The compilation, while certainly subjective, is sure to receive nods of recognition along with a gasp o…

4,050.-

Roy Lichtenstein The Impossible Collection | Avis Berman

Roy Lichtenstein's comic strip"inspired paintings and irreverent wit have resonated with art collectors and enthusiasts for over half a century. Museums and galleries compete to exhibit his work, and in the market, he is one of the most coveted names in contemporary art. Celebrated for imbuing ordinary objects from hot dogs to trash cans with monumental power, Lichtenstein defied traditional "good taste" and became part of the new avant-garde that redefined American art in the 1960s. In this new Assouline Ultimate Collection volume, one hundred of Lichtenstein's most memorable works, as chosen by art historian Avis Berman, are lavishly reproduced, from the iconic Whaam! and Drowning Girl and later reinterpretations of paintings by Picasso, Matisse, and van Gogh to public commissions like Times Square Mural, which is installed in New York City's Times Square subway station. Including stunning gatefolds that reveal the breadth of Lichtenstein's art in all its color and beauty, this book …

4,050.-

The Forbidden City - The Palace at the Heart of Chinese Culture (Impossible Collection) | Ian Johnson

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