There is a true fascination with all things miniature and with the skills involved in creating a miniature masterpiece. Miniatures have an intrinsic aesthetic quality: they are objects of allure, or of awe. This title explores the appeal of miniature objects and worlds, and the implications that lie behind their creation.

He also assesses the importance of relative scale and questions how 'miniature' can be defined. How large or small can a miniature be? Is a map a miniaturization of a larger world? What is the point of something that is almost too small to be seen by the human eye? From Gulliver to King Kong, classical art to surrealism, Aristotle to the Yoruba - in this intriguing book can be found the exquisite and the esoteric; the wondrous and the weird.The chapters and themes are as follows: Small is Beautiful: The mathematics of the miniature, materials, the miniaturist, micro mosaics, the microcoscopist, of lice and lace; The Colossal and the Diminutive: The measure of all things, Hercules and the Gods, temples and temple carts, museums as arks, microcosms and models, the gross and the exquisite; Visualising Small Worlds: Artists and boxes, gardens as small worlds, maps and microcosms, pilgrim sites; Seeing Hidden Things: Divining the world, sightedness; Small Bodies:The body as microcosm, shrunken heads, child marriage, constructing childhood, toys and dolls, living dolls; Small as Powerful: Empowered material, magical gems, medicines; and Private Pleasures: Courtly dalliance, the discreet charm of the netsuke, miniatures and proverbs, and the secret and the esoteric.