Product Description

African art -- with its powerful forms, complex symbolism, and formal inventiveness -- has only recently come to be recognized as one of the great artistic traditions of mankind. This rich tradition is showcased here in a remarkable selection of outstanding works. Nearly 1,600 objects are illustrated, each accompanied by scholarly information on style, usage, meaning, and cultural origin. Featured individually by section are the styles of Western Sudan, the West African Coastal Region, West Central Africa, Central Africa, and Eastern and Southern Africa. A thought-provoking introduction helps readers understand the significance of African art as a form of human creative expression, its relationships to contemporary Western art, and the controversies surrounding it in the world's museums. Newcomers to the field as well as professionals will find many questions answered in the text and captions. FThis comprehensive survey of some 230 styles of African art is an essential reference for scholars, teachers, students, curators, collectors, and dealers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #295215 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 616 pages

Customer Reviews

Black and white reference
This is not a coffee table book in that there are no pretty full page colour pictures - everything is in black and white and generally quite small. However, for anyone familiar with African art who wants an exhaustive catalogue of the range of works available, this is an invaluable book - luckily, I had seen it in a book shop, so I knew what I was getting. Moreover, many of the pieces are major works or at least of significant aesthetic quality, which cannot be said of most published groupings of African art. Just make sure this is what you are looking for. Now, a full color version of this in two volumes with full page reproductions, that would be worth waiting for.