The Eighteenth century was a true golden age for the visual arts in Portugal. The discovery of fabulous deposits of gold, diamonds, and emeralds in Brazil suddenly made Portugal's court the wealthiest in Europe, enabling patronage of the arts on a lavish scale. This handsome volume is the first major work to be devoted to this period of Portuguese art and history. Written by historians such as Kenneth Maxwell and specialists in architectural history such as Helmut Wohl and Jennifer Montagu, the book tells the story of this unique age - its politics, society and history. Focusing on the reigns of King Jaoa V, who ruled from 1706 to 1750, and King Jose I (1750-1777) the book reproduces and discusses more than a hundred works of art - including paintings, architecture, sculpture, furniture, ceramics, silver, jewellery, and textiles - that illustrate the extraordinary quality of Portuguese artistic production and patronage. The book is the catalogue for an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, which will run from 7 November 1993 to 7 February 1994.