By Any Other Name: A Cultural History of the Rose
The rose is bursting with meaning: over the centuries it has come to represent love and sensuality, deceit, death and the mystical unknown. Today the rose enjoys unrivalled popularity across the globe, ever present at life's seminal moments. Grown in the Middle East two thousand years ago for its pleasing scent and medicinal properties, it has attached itself to us, its needy host and servant, to become one of the most adored flowers across cultures. The rose is well-versed at enchanting human hearts - no longer selected by nature, but by us. From Bulgaria's Rose Valley to the thriving rose trade in Africa and the Far East, via art galleries, museums and high fashion, Victorian England and Belle Epoque France, we meet an astonishing array of species and hybrids of remarkably different provenance. This is the story of a hardy, thorny flower and how, by beauty and charm, it came to seduce the world.
Dr Simon Morley is a British artist and modern historian who specializes in the theory and practice of contemporary painting. He is the author of several books on modern and contemporary art. His essays have been published in the TLS, Modern Painters, Tate Magazine and the Independent on Sunday. Previously a lecturer at the Sotheby's Institute and at Winchester School of Art, he is now Assistant Professor of Fine Art at Dankook University, Republic of Korea. He is also a keen amateur gardener.
Author: Simon Morley
Format: Hardback, 304 pages, 153mm x 234mm
Published: 2021, Oneworld Publications, United Kingdom
Genre: Communication & Media
The rose is bursting with meaning: over the centuries it has come to represent love and sensuality, deceit, death and the mystical unknown. Today the rose enjoys unrivalled popularity across the globe, ever present at life's seminal moments. Grown in the Middle East two thousand years ago for its pleasing scent and medicinal properties, it has attached itself to us, its needy host and servant, to become one of the most adored flowers across cultures. The rose is well-versed at enchanting human hearts - no longer selected by nature, but by us. From Bulgaria's Rose Valley to the thriving rose trade in Africa and the Far East, via art galleries, museums and high fashion, Victorian England and Belle Epoque France, we meet an astonishing array of species and hybrids of remarkably different provenance. This is the story of a hardy, thorny flower and how, by beauty and charm, it came to seduce the world.
Dr Simon Morley is a British artist and modern historian who specializes in the theory and practice of contemporary painting. He is the author of several books on modern and contemporary art. His essays have been published in the TLS, Modern Painters, Tate Magazine and the Independent on Sunday. Previously a lecturer at the Sotheby's Institute and at Winchester School of Art, he is now Assistant Professor of Fine Art at Dankook University, Republic of Korea. He is also a keen amateur gardener.