Synopsis
Among the Mande-speaking groups dispersed throughout much of West Africa, certain artists -- including potters and leatherworkers -- form a spiritually powerful social class in which gender determines craft specialization. Ceramic water jars and cooking pots are made by the wives and female relatives of blacksmiths. Leather objects such as knife sheaths, amulet cases, and, more recently, western-style shoes and bags are produced by male leatherworkers. While these objects display features common to those of other West African groups, the manner in which they are produced has remained distinctly Mande.
In Mande Potters and Leatherworkers, Barbara E. Frank explores the complex, shifting relationships among the identities of Mande craftspeople, the objects they create, and the technologies they use. She examines their role in the rise and fall of empires, the development of trans-Sahara trade networks, and the spread of Islam, questioning the "one tribe, one style" interpretations that have dominated studies of West African art. She also discusses the pride that potters take in their healing and spiritual knowledge and the sense of difference between the craftsmen who specialize exclusively in leatherworking and those who double as bards and musicians.
Lavishly illustrated with nearly two hundred color and black and white images of tools, techniques, craftsmen, and crafted objects, Mande Potters and Leatherworkers both displays the beauty of Mande art and illuminates seldom-seen technological and social aspects of its art history.
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About the Author
Barbara E. Frank is an associate professor of art history at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is the coeditor of Status and Identity in West Africa: Nyamaka-law of Mande (1995).
Review
"A concise, clear, beautifully illustrated study...An important book." -- Choice, December 1998
"A significant contribution to art historical practice." -- African Arts, Summer 2000
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MANDE POTTERS & LEATHERWORKERS Art and Heritage in West Africa
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Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D. C., 1998
ISBN 10: 1560987944
ISBN 13: 9781560987949
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Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington, D. C., 1998
ISBN 10: 1560987944
ISBN 13: 9781560987949
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Hardcover. Brown cloth boards with rust lettering on spine, color illustrated dust jacket with mylar cover, xvi, 192 pp, richly illustrated in color and bw. "Analyzing the work of Mande potters and leatherworkers, Barbara E. Frank argues that studying craft technologies in addition to object styles is esential for reconstructing the art heritage of an ethnically complex region. Drawing on her archaeological and historical evidence as well as her field research in Mali, she shows how tools and practices such as potters' use of convex molds and leatherworkers' adherence to specific knife blade shapes serve to distinguish the goods made by Mande artists from those of neighboring groups."- dust jacket. Good+ (slight foxing to block edges and wear to corners). Seller Inventory # 174393
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MANDE POTTERS & LEATHERWORKERS
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ISBN 13: 9781560987949
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hardcover with dustjacket. Condition: Sehr gut. 192 Seiten Sehr gutes, sauberes Exemplar. - Among the Mande-speaking groups dispersed throughout much of West Africa, certain artists -- including potters and leatherworkers -- form a spiritually powerful social class in which gender determines craft specialization. Ceramic water jars and cooking pots are made by the wives and female relatives of blacksmiths. Leather objects such as knife sheaths, amulet cases, and, more recently, western-style shoes and bags are produced by male leatherworkers. While these objects display features common to those of other West African groups, the manner in which they are produced has remained distinctly Mande. In Mande Potters and Leatherworkers, Barbara E. Frank explores the complex, shifting relationships among the identities of Mande craftspeople, the objects they create, and the technologies they use. She examines their role in the rise and fall of empires, the development of trans-Sahara trade networks, and the spread of Islam, questioning the "one tribe, one style" interpretations that have dominated studies of West African art. She also discusses the pride that potters take in their healing and spiritual knowledge and the sense of difference between the craftsmen who specialize exclusively in leatherworking and those who double as bards and musicians. Lavishly illustrated with nearly two hundred color and black and white images of tools, techniques, craftsmen, and crafted objects, Mande Potters and Leatherworkers both displays the beauty of Mande art and illuminates seldom-seen technological and social aspects of its art history. ISBN 9781560987949 Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 450. Seller Inventory # 1256275
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