Descrizione

Gutes Exemplar; der illustr. Umschlag gering berieben. - Englisch. - With 225 illustrations, 196 in full colour . For a variety of reasons - warfare, burial looting, recycling, etc. - very little ancient African goldwork has survived. This volume presents a generous selection of the finest pieces of West African goldwork owned by one of the world's foremost collections of African art, the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva. It illustrates and discusses a wide range of ornamental objects, including head-dresses, rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings and items of royal regalia. Many of these pieces, dating for the most part from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, are decorated with figurative motifs -birds, fish, fruit, and the like - which convey a message by referring to local proverbs. This is the first detailed study of goldwork produced south of the Sahara, and concentrates on two regions: the Sahel and the central West African forest. The historical and cultural context in which the pieces were made is explained, as well as the techniques employed in their creation. The book constitutes a unique survey of the little-known splendours of the African goldsmith's art. (Verlagstext) // INHALT : Foreword Preface ----- Chapter One: Gold of Africa ----- Chapter Two: Sahara, Sahel and Senegambia ----- Chapter Three: The Akan of Ghana ----- Chapter Four: The Akan-related Peoples of Cote d'lvoire ----- Chapter Five: The Gold Mines of West Africa ----- Chapter Six: Goldsmiths and Their Technology ----- Plates ----- Catalogue ----- Bibliography ----- Index of Tribes and Places. ISBN 9783791309149