{"product_id":"thrust-a-spasmodic-pictorial-history-of-the-codpiece-in-art-ekphrasis","title":"Thrust: A Spasmodic Pictorial History of the Codpiece in Art (ekphrasis)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA laugh-out-loud visual history of the strangest piece of mens clothing ever created: the codpiece.  The codpiece was fashioned in the Middle Ages to close a revealing gap between two separate pieces of mens tights. By the sixteenth century  it had become an upscale must-have accessory. This lighthearted  illustrated examination of its history pulls in writers from Rabelais to Shakespeare and figures from Henry VIII to Alice Cooper. Glovers witty and entertaining prose reveals how male vanity turned a piece of cloth into a bulging and absurd representation of masculinity itself. The codpiece  painted again and again by masters such as Titian  Holbein  Giorgione  and Bruegel  became a symbol of royalty  debauchery  virility  and religious seriousnessall in one.  Centuries of male self-importance and delusion are on display in this highly enjoyably new title. Glovers book moves from paintings to contemporary culture and back again as it charts the growing popularity of the codpiece and its eventual decline. The first history of its kind  this book is a must-read for art historians  anthropologists  fashion aficionados  and readers looking for a good  long laugh.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44950222569525,"sku":"ByrdShop_1644230240","price":92.63,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781644230244_ed605540-226d-4ce4-be38-17a5b9e306fb.jpg?v=1770565833","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/thrust-a-spasmodic-pictorial-history-of-the-codpiece-in-art-ekphrasis","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}