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| Beads:
An Exploration of Bead Traditions around
the World |
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| By: |
Janet Coles
and Robert Budwig |
| Publisher: |
Simon &
Schuster |
| Format: |
Hardcover |
| Price: |
$36.95 |
| Unit of Measure: |
Copy |
| About the
Book: |
Sophisticated
glass baubles from venice, intricate silver
filigree from India, intriguing batik bone from
Central Africa -- dazzling and elegant beads
from around the world have earned a passionate
following among deisgners, collectors, and
jewelery-makers. As popular as beads have
become, the international traditions of the
craft have brought a devoted new audience to the
field, one that values the history and meaning
of beads as well as their often startling
beauty.
Featuring thirty step-by-step
projects to help readers create replicas of
authentic traditional beaded jewelry, this
richly illustrated book explores the
international traditions of beads with great
style and insight. Including examples of the
most beautiful, rare, and imaginative beads made
around the globe, and written by the two leading
experts in the field, Beads shows us that these
endlessly fascinating ornaments have played a
significant role in all cultures and throughout
history.Indeed in many societies they are part
of a cultural tradition that is still
flourishing. Variously an elegant form of
adornment, a convinient type of money, and a
talismanic charm that can bring luck or ward off
evil, beads can provide an unusually rich entree
into the social and artistic traditions of world
cultures.
The lucid, accessible text by
Janet Coles and Robert Budwig, authors of the
hugely successful Book of Beads, begins by
explaining the fascinating ways these ornaments
are made and used - from nuts and seeds simply
strung onto necklaces to the most technically
complex examples of handblown glass or
elaborately chased silver. Organized by
geographic region, the book discusses the
diversity of beads and beadmaking techniques
from around the world, illustrated with more
than 350 specially commissioned color
photographs that show the extraordinary texture
and color of the world's most beautiful
examples. The process of creating certain beads
is also discussed, and striking photos of people
wearing beads according to their customs are
included, an approach that places production,
wearing, and selling into a present-day cultural
context.
The beadmaking traditions of Europe
and the Middle East are first explored,
including Baltic amber, Czech and Venetian
glass, English jet, Yemeni silverwork, and more.
The authors then move on to Africa, where
locally made beads as well as trade pieces are
explored, including wonderful examples from the
Masai, the Zulu, and from Egypt. Next, the
Indian subcontinent reveals a treasure-trove of
wonderful beads, including the bone beads of the
Naga people, lac work from Jaipur, and Afghan
lapis lazuli. In the Far East and Southeast
Asia, silverwork from Bali and Thailand,
cloisonne from China, and pearls from Japan are
presented. Finally, in the Americas, Coles and
Budwig shows us beaded jewelery made from coral,
silver, seeds, feathers, and turquoise, as well
as Persian ceramic beads and pre-Columbian gold
and rock
crystal.
Provincial order will be charged additional $6.95/Order.
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