Beadwork: A World Guide - Softcover

Crabtree, Caroline; Stallebrass, Pam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0500288011 ISBN 13: 9780500288016

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 2009

Synopsis

“This fantastic starting point for those beginning in the art of beadwork aptly covers the long record of the art form throughout the world.”―Booklist

French mourning wreaths‚ Ukrainian Easter eggs, Norwegian bodices, Chinese slippers, Pakistani hair tassels, Egyptian belly-dancing outfits, Maasai wedding dresses, Sioux moccasins . . . from Greenland to Bali, beadwork from all over the world is illustrated and its history revealed.

The earliest drawn glass beads were produced from around 200 BC in various locations in India and exported for centuries along the major trade routes to Africa and Asia. From the sixteenth century on, beads made in Europe became highly desirable trade items and spread throughout the world.

This book is organized into five sections, with more than forty topics in all. Each of four main regional sections―Africa; the Americas; Europe; and Asia, Oceania, and the Arabian Gulf―outlines the history of beads in that area before examining production in detail. A fifth section surveys techniques, from brick stitch and herringbone weave to lazy stitch and three-dimensional structures. Includes information on collecting and conserving beadwork and a list of public collections around the world. 550 color illustrations

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

French mourning wreaths; Ukranian Easter eggs; Norwegian bodices; Chinese slippers; Pakistani hair tassels; Egyptian belly-dancing outfits; central Asian tent decorations; Maasai wedding dresses; Xhosa neckpieces; Athabaskan shot pouches and Sioux mocaasins...from Greenland to Bali, beadwork from all around the world is illustrated, and its history revealed, in this authoritative history of the craft.
The amazing worldwide transformation of very small, usually uniformly colored, beads
into intricate articles or embellishments is told in a coherent story for the first time.
The earliest drawn glass beads were produced around 200 B. C. in various locations in India and exported for centuries along the major trade routes to Africa and Asia. From the sixteenth century on beads made in Europe became highly desirable trade items and spread throughout the world.
After an introduction and an in-depth survey of bead manufacturing centers in Europe and Asia, Beadwork is organized into five principle sections, with over forty topics in all.
Each of four main regional sections-Africa; the Americas; Asia, Oceania and the Arabian Gulf; and Europe-outlines the history and trade routes of beads in the area, with an accompanying map, examines what has been and is being produced in detail. A fifth section surveys construction and techniques: from brick stitch and herringbone weave to lazy stitch and three-dimensional structures.
With over six hundred illustrations, information on collecting and conserving beadwork, and on where to see public collections, this is the first survey to reveal the wealth and diversity of traditional beadwork from around the world. The result will inspirebeadworkers, collectors and designer, and anyone interested in art, craft, and fashion.

About the Author:

Caroline Crabtree trained as an embroiderer in the UK and is the author of Quilting, Patchwork and Appliqué and the co-author of Beadwork.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0500288011
• ISBN 13: 9780500288016
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208