- Paperback: 136 pages
- Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (Sep 1 1995)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0810926172
- ISBN-13: 978-0810926172
- Product Dimensions: 29.9 x 22.6 x 1.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 826 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #789,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Beads have been used throughout the ages and in virtually every culture, not simply as adornment but to express social circumstances, political occurrences, and religious beliefs; as a form of currency; or as symbolic embodiments of curative powers. And they're colorful, made of various interesting materials, and can be combined in endless configurations. With more than 100 crisp color photos and intelligently written text that reaps the benefits of the author's 30 years of research, The History of Beads documents bead styles and uses in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Far East. Ranging from prehistoric times to the 20th century, this book stops along the way to consider the magic eye bead, prayer beads, and beads with other special attributes. An eight-page color gatefold section offers a fascinating timeline of the bead's history at a glance. Bead devotees can satisfy their curiosity about their medium of choice and draw inspiration for their own creations from the beautiful photos of necklaces, collars, bags, headdresses, and other beaded ornaments. --Amy Handy
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Beads have played an important role in every major civilization and have traveled widely as valuable and easily portable objects of adornment. This comprehensive and visually stimulating history focuses on the bead in its cultural context as personal decoration, currency, status symbol, magical charm, and form of cultural communication. Complementing the well-documented text are full-page color photographs of beads from museums and private collections; maps showing bead-making centers and distribution routes; and a fold-out chart of every major bead type (over 1230) from the dawn of history to the present. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries. Janice Zlendich, California State Univ. Lib., Fullerton
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible Book and a labor of love,
By
Ce commentaire est de: The History of Beads: From 30,000 B.C. to the Present (Hardcover)
This book comes in two versions: a concise version and a huge hardcover version. I own both, but find the unabridged version to be head and shoulders above the paperback "bead history lite" one. This huge tome is a labor of love, and is one of the best books available to learn why every culture devised by man has valued these little objects with holes in them. There are plenty of photos, and the book follows the parallel paths of humans and beads throughout history. It can be startling and amusing to discover that what we consider to be new and exciting has been done many times in the past by people in cultures everywhere. I personally found it facinating to discover that one of the first things that humans do when we discover a new material is to punch a hole in it and wear it as a bead. Intrinsically, beads are mostly worthless, but this book shows how they bind us all together and add to our knowledge of the people share our planet, both now and in the past. A must read for the serious bead artist.
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a correction of an erroneous review--,
By A Customer
Ce commentaire est de: The History of Beads: From 30,000 B.C. to the Present (Hardcover)
I hope this edit supercedes my previous review as the author was correct and I feel like an idiot for not doing my own research correctly and voicing criticism very inappropriately. The book is, as described by previous reviewers, quite gorgeous, and, along with Robert Liu's book, one of the few available serious efforts at a comprehensive history.
5.0 out of 5 stars
a treasure!,
Ce commentaire est de: The History of Beads: From 30,000 B.C. to the Present (Hardcover)
I first met this breathtakingly beautiful book several years ago while working at a beadstore. It was an absolute treasure trove of information while I was studying the history of beads and beadwork. The photos of historical and cultural projects are a wonderful source of inspiration and knowledge. The pull-out chart of the bead time line is beautiful. a beautiful coffee table book and useful reference.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Arts & Photography > Design & Decorative Arts > Textile & Costume
- Books > Arts & Photography > History & Criticism
- Books > Health, Mind & Body > Beauty & Fashion
- Books > Home & Garden > Antiques & Collectibles
- Books > Home & Garden > Crafts & Hobbies > Beadwork
- Books > Home & Garden > Crafts & Hobbies > Jewellery
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
