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shell money

(Encyclopedia)shell money, medium of exchange consisting of shells, the most widely distributed type of ancient currency. Shells are particularly useful as money because they may be strung in long strips of proport...

Fabergé, Peter Carl

(Encyclopedia)Fabergé, Peter Carl fäbĕrzhāˈ [key], 1846–1920, Russian goldsmith and jeweler, b. St. Petersburg. Sometimes described as a latter-day Cellini, he was descended from Huguenots and inherited (187...

gypsum

(Encyclopedia)gypsum jĭpˈsəm [key], mineral composed of calcium sulfate (calcium, sulfur, and oxygen) with two molecules of water, CaSO4·2H2O. It is the most common sulfate mineral, occurring in many places in ...

Phoenician art

(Encyclopedia)Phoenician art. The Phoenician region developed as a major trade center of the ancient world; consequently Phoenician art clearly reflects the influences of Egypt, Syria, and Greece. Phoenician deitie...

Whitby, town, England

(Encyclopedia)Whitby, town, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, N England, at the mouth of the Esk. It is a port and resort whose primary industries are fishing and tourism. Jet is found locally, and jewelry and ornament...

antique

(Encyclopedia)antique. The term has been used collectively to designate classical Greek and Roman works of art, particularly sculptures; as an adjective to indicate an object, a period, or a style of ancient or ear...

Cardin, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Cardin, Pierre pyĕr kärdăNˈ [key], 1922–2020, French fashion designer, b. Italy. He spent most of his early years working in Paris for such firms as Schiaparelli and Dior and designed the costum...

National Museum of the American Indian

(Encyclopedia)National Museum of the American Indian, institution devoted to the collection, preservation, and presentation of the culture of the indigenous populations of the Western Hemisphere, a division of the ...

Schaffhausen

(Encyclopedia)Schaffhausen shäfhouˈzən [key], canton (1993 pop. 73,000), 115 sq mi (298 sq km), N Switzerland. Entirely on the right (northern) bank of the Rhine River, the canton consists of three noncontiguous...

Versace, Gianni

(Encyclopedia)Versace, Gianni (Giovanni Maria Versace), 1946–97, Italian fashion designer, b. Reggio Calabria. A dressmaker's son, Versace worked for several Italian designers before opening (1978) his own Milan ...