2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive and Authentic, July 15 2001
This review is from: Traditional Jewelry of India (Hardcover)
Oppi's thoroughness and attention to the detail in this book is amazing. Pictures and illustrations are just magnificent. Oppi covers the jewelry of maharajas to jewelry of tribal people. The jewelry descriptions in this book include every region and every style there is in India. I bought this book when I was asked to talk about India's jewelry at an art museum. This book definitely improved my knowledge about the subject.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Traditional Jewelry of India, Aug 3 2000
This review is from: Traditional Jewelry of India (Hardcover)
Oppi's book is magnificent. It is a culmination of over thirty years of Oppi's research. His book covers more than just Indian jewelry, but forehead marks and henna mendhi.
Inspired by trips to New York's museums when he was young, Oppi crafts a anthropological journey through a fascinating history of human ornamentation, beginning with wood ash and mud. Oppi traveled extensively to personally research his subject in association with scholarships he won, including a Fulbright scholarship and funding from John D Rockefeller III.
He shows the use of natural items in jewelry, such as leaves, flowers, seeds, vines and wood. Unusual jewelry materials like anteater claws are pictured. Of course, gemstones and precious metals are included. There are photos of elegant gold filigree and fist-sized gemstones.
My favorite part of the book is called "Typology from Head to Toe" in which Oppi takes you on a journey in pictures of people wearing ornaments in their hair to those worn on the toes. The book includes an extensive index and bibliography. It is a very human book, showing how ornaments are worn by people, not just showing photos of the ornaments alone as many other ethnic jewelry books do.
Although you might think the subject of Indian jewelry is narrow before you see the book, a glance through the book will make you want to own it even though the sticker price is high.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oppi Untracht provides a wealth of knowledge about India/Pak, Feb 18 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Traditional Jewelry of India (Hardcover)
An excellent and well researched study with extraordinary photographs by a well known scholar of Indian art. 430 interesting pages that are very well presented to the reader. You'll find possibly more detail than you may need, but you can return later for the items you missed.
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