| Beads and Bead Makers: Gender, Material Culture and Meaning Contributor(s): Sciama, Lidia D. (Editor), Eicher, Joanne B. (Editor) |
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ISBN: 1859739903 ISBN-13: 9781859739907 Publisher: Berg Publishers OUR PRICE: $148.50 Product Type: Hardcover Published: May 1998 Annotation: Beads have been used since antiquity, not only to dress the body, but as measures of value in economic and ritual exchanges. Their popularity has never waned, and in recent years their trade has enjoyed a world-wide revival. Beads have deep and multiple meanings: in many cultures, together with garments, they reflect age, gender and social status, and are a vehicle through which people store, exchange and transmit wealth. This absorbing book analyzes techniques and gendered aspects of the making of beads, as well as their role in trade and body adornment, in a wide range of societies, from the ancient Mediterranean to Renaissance Venice and present-day Southern Africa and West Africa, where they have become a symbol of cultural survival and identity. Anyone interested in material culture, anthropology, art history, and gender studies will find that this book provides fascinating insights into attitudes toward the body and its dress as well as systems of social classification. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social - Design | Fashion & Accessories - Design | Textile & Costume |
| Dewey: 391.7 |
| LCCN: 98188414 |
| Series: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Women |
| Physical Information: 0.75" H x 6.14" W x 9.21" (1.42 lbs) 336 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Beads have been used since antiquity, not only to dress the body, but as measures of value in economic and ritual exchanges. Their popularity has never waned, and in recent years their trade has enjoyed a world-wide revival. Beads have deep and multiple meanings: in many cultures, together with garments, they reflect age, gender and social status, and are a vehicle through which people store, exchange and transmit wealth.This absorbing book analyzes techniques and gendered aspects of the making of beads, as well as their role in trade and body adornment, in a wide range of societies, from the ancient Mediterranean to Renaissance Venice and present-day Southern Africa and West Africa, where they have become a symbol of cultural survival and identity. Anyone interested in material culture, anthropology, art history, and gender studies will find that this book provides fascinating insights into attitudes toward the body and its dress as well as systems of social classification. |
Contributor Bio(s): Eicher, Joanne B.: - Joanne B. Eicher is Regents Professor Emerita at the University of Minnesota. Joanne is Editor-in-Chief, Encyclopedia of Dress and Fashion (Bloomsbury and OUP); Series Editor, Dress, Body Culture (Bloomsbury); Author, Editor, Co-Editor, The Visible Self, (Fairchild); Dress and Gender (Berg); Dress and Ethnicity (Berg); Beads and Beadmakers (Berg); Mother, Daughter, Sister, Bride (National Geographic); a wide variety of published articles in professional journals and chapters in books.Sciama, Lidia D.: - Lidia D. Sciama is at The Centre for Cross-Cultural Research on Women, University of Oxford. |