This catalog is based on the exhibit, "Aspects of Art and Science," held at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of History and Technology and MIT's Compton Gallery in the summer and fall of 1978. It illustrates and discusses 72 objects and rare books from museums and private collections in the United States and Great Britain. These include art masterpieces, workaday objects, pieces associated with major scientific figures and long-extinct cultures—all manifesting the themes of Cyril Stanley Smith's research into the relationships among art, science, and technology. Smith, a distinguished metallurgist and historian of technology, now professor emeritus at MIT, has argued persuasively that time and again, the artist and artisan have discovered and exploited subtle properties of matter prior to their use in "serious" technology and long before they attracted scientific attention.
Students of science and technology, art historians, and interested readers will enjoy the lavish illustrations, many in full color, of beautiful and historically significant vases, swords, beads, medallions, stamps, illuminated manuscripts, crystals, and much more. In addition, the text provides a store of information showing how the decorative arts, especially ceramics and metals, have contributed to scientists' understanding of the structure and properties of matter.