Synopses & Reviews
Curated by a Sothebyandrsquo;s New York expert, Visions of Grace highlights 100 works from the celebrated collection of precolonial African art assembled by Drs. Daniel and Marian Malcolm. Focusing on pieces of the highest artistic quality, the Malcolms are especially fascinated by creative expressions reflecting the religious beliefs, social structures, and traditional values of sub-Saharan African peoples. Author Heinrich Schweizer concentrates on the diversity and depth of the collection, providing historical, sociological, and religious context. Striking a balance between well-known and previously unpublished masterpieces, the book presents key works in lush colorplates.
Synopsis
The 70-some carved objects from the Democratic Republic of the Congo presented in this book have something remarkable in common: They are permeated with the powers of magic and sorcery, and are believed to be inhabited by the spirits of nature and the ghosts of ancestors. Selected with great care by Patric Didier Claes, a Belgian expert in African art, the works are from the Kingdom of Luba, at the source of the Congo, and the Kingdoms of Kongo and Teke. Each sculpture is identified, indexed, meticulously described, placed in context, and pinpointed as an example of the particular carving style of a specific workshop.
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.