Imperialism, Art and Restitution


Book Description

This book is about whether or not great works of art should be returned.




What Is African Art?


Book Description

A history of the evolving field of African art. This book examines the invention and development of African art as an art historical category. It starts with a simple question: What do we mean when we talk about African art? By confronting the historically shifting answers to this question, Peter Probst identifies “African art” as a conceptual vessel that manifests wider societal transformations. What Is African Art? covers three key stages in the field’s history. Starting with the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries, the book first discusses the colonial formation of the field by focusing on the role of museums, collectors, and photography in disseminating visual cultures as relations of power. It then explores the remaking of the field at the dawn of African independence with the shift toward contemporary art and the rise of Black Atlantic studies in the 1970s and 1980s. Finally, it examines the post- and decolonial reconfiguration of the field driven by questions of representation, repair, and restitution.




Antique Works of Art from Benin


Book Description

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.




Bibliography of Nigeria


Book Description

First published in 1971, this major bibliography devoted to Africa’s most populous country – Nigeria – is therefore a timely contribution which must be welcomed by all. The Bibliography of Nigeria contains over 5,400 entries in archaeology, all branches of anthropology, linguistic and relevant historical and sociological studies. Many of the entries carry indicative or informative annotations which have greatly enhanced the usefulness of the work. The history and culture of Africa constitutes a rich area of study and research which is attracting an ever-increasing number of scholars the world over. The new impetus which African studies is receiving in the major centre of learning today has added urgency to the long-neglected problem of bibliographical control of the vast literature. The dearth of bibliographies in the field of African studies has been a main source of frustration to all those working in this area. The book is divided into two parts: part one deals with Nigeria as a whole, and lists general works or those concerned with several regions or several ethnic groups. Part two is devoted to the various ethnic groups. An analytical table of contents, a comprehensive ethnic index, an author index and an index of Islamic studies, together with generous cross-referencing, ensure ready and easy location of individual entries.




Confronting the Sacred: Durkheim vindicated through philosophical analysis, ethnography, archaeology, long-range linguistics, and comparative mythology


Book Description

With Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912) the soci0logist ?mile Durkheim formulated the most influential social-science theory of religion to date. Pivotal are the paired concepts ?sacred / profane?, the notion of ?collective representations?, and the hypothesis that through such religious symbols, society compels its members to venerate herself i.e. to submit to the social as an irreducible instance in its own right. Having grappled with this Durkheimian inheritance for half a century, the anthropologist of religion and intercultural philosopher Wim van Binsbergen in this book traces his own steps in confront_ing Durkheim's sacred, through theoretical criticism, through ethnographic application (to popular Islam in the segmentary social organisation of the highlands of Northwestern Tunisia), and by state-of-the-art long-range methods of linguistic and comparative mythological analysis. Thus, much to his surprise, he demonstrates the continued validity of Durkheim's insights in religion.




Acquiring Cultures


Book Description

As more parts of the world outside Europe became accessible =– and in the wake of social and technological developments in the 18th century – a growing number of exotic artefacts entered European markets. The markets for such objects thrived, while a collecting culture and museums emerged. This book provides insights into the methods and places of exchange, networks, prices, expertise, and valuation concepts, as well as the transfer and transport of these artefacts over 300 years and across four continents. The contributions are from international experts, including Ting Chang, Nélia Dias, Noëmie Etienne, Jonathan Fine, Philip Jones, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, Léa Saint-Raymond, and Masako Yamamoto.




The Studio


Book Description