Synopses & Reviews
The Barbier-Mueller Collection of Pre-Columbian art, recently auctioned at Sothebys, is the most comprehensive collection of its kind. Comprising some 300 works from Mexico, Central, and South America— wood and stone sculptures, ceramics, textiles, and ritual objects—it spans 1200 bc to 1500 ad. This sumptuous slipcased set presents the collection, which includes masterworks from the Aztec, Maya, and other cultures, in two magnificently illustrated books written by the greatest international specialists on the subject, and also includes Sothebys sale catalogue.
The Barbier-Mueller Collection, one of the most important and wide-ranging art collections in the world, was begun by Josef Mueller in Paris in 1908 with the purchase of works by Hodler and Cézanne; the Swiss Mueller then looked beyond Western art and bought his first Pre-Columbian piece, an Aztec stone water goddess, in 1920. Today, Muellers daughter and son-in-law, Monique and Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller, continue to collect Western, African, Oceanic, and Cycladic art that is frequently on loan to museums around the world.
Synopsis
-This sumptuous slip-cased set presents the Barbier-Mueller Collection, which includes masterworks from the Aztec, Maya, and other cultures, in two magnificently illustrated books written by the greatest international specialists on the subject, and also includes Sotheby's sale catalog The Barbier-Mueller Collection of Pre-Columbian art, recently auctioned at Sotheby's, is the most comprehensive collection of its kind. Comprising some 300 works from Mexico, Central, and South America - wood and stone sculptures, ceramics, textiles, and ritual objects - it spans 1200 BC to AD 1500. The Barbier-Mueller Collection, one of the most important and wide-ranging art collections in the world, was begun by Josef Mueller in Paris in 1908 with the purchase of works by Hodler and C zanne; the Swiss Mueller then looked beyond Western art and bought his first pre-Columbian piece, an Aztec stone water goddess, in 1920. Today, Mueller's daughter and son-in-law, Monique and Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller, continue to collect Western, African, Oceanic, and Cycladic art, which is frequently on loan to museums around the world. Text in English and French.
Synopsis
In an elegant 17th-century house in the historic center of Quito, Ecuador, visitors can find some 5,000 archeological masterworks created in a range of raw materials by ancient peoples. The house, the Casa del Alabado, or House of Praise, passed its name to the museum, a fitting one for the space that contains a unique collection of indigenous works of art, with some 500 pieces permanently on view. This book brings the art to a wider public, explaining the worldview and philosophy of these ancient people, in particular the importance of preserving life by maintaining the flow of cosmic energy and spiritual communication between the distinct worlds that made up their universe.
About the Author
Ivan Cruz Cevallos is scientific advisor to the Casa del Alabado and president of the Alejandro Labaka Foundation. Christian Mesand#237;a Montenegro is the director of the Pre-Columbian Museum Casa del Alabado.