Overview

Embellishment with glittering substances is a worldwide and ancient practice, found in Assyrian bas-reliefs, in the tombs of Scythian nomadic horsemen, the treasures of the pharaohs and in the burials of Andean cultures' high priests. Today these creations are a source of ideas in contemporary fashion and decoration. Victoria Rivers has spent more than a decade in the search for the most spectacular examples of a universally appealing phenomenon. Combining her artist's eye with an in-depth knowledge of textile techniques and drawing on an array of specialist and anthropological research from all the world's continents, she discusses and displays her subject in three main sections. The volume should be useful to anyone concerned with fashion and the textile industry, and anyone interested in symbol and ritual in the evolution of traditional societies.

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9780500019511

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Reviews

''A hypnotic look at cultures around the world through the history of their textiles as well as their contemporary fashions, symbols, and ceremonial practices....This is a book for anyone who has ever coveted beautiful fabrics or lost his or her heart to a camel saddle or a spectacular Indian sari.''

''A hypnotic look at cultures around the world through the history of their textiles as well as their contemporary fashions, symbols, and ceremonial practices....This is a book for anyone who has ever coveted beautiful fabrics or lost his or her heart to a camel saddle or a spectacular Indian sari.'' ''An encyclopaedic array of dazzling garments, accessories, and objects....The book is a work of art in itself.''

From the ancient rulers of Egypt, Rome and those civilizations even further back in time, to the modern ceremonial dresses of today's kings and queens, the tradition of adorning material with precious and semi-precious metals and gems remains conspicuously fashionable. Apparently blind to geographic and cultural differences, the people of the world instinctively understood the beauty and symbolism of creating rich fabrics which literally sparkle with importance. With an artist's sensibility and an academic's knowledge of textiles, Rivers - professor in the design department at the University of California at Davis - has spent the past decade combing the globe for the most impressive examples of this universally attractrive form of art. Sifting through anthropological archives in every continent, her work has become a definitive statement on the subject. Almost 300 colour illustrations expose the bewildering array of varied textiles, adorned not only with precious metals and gems but also more creatively - with shells, seeds, feathers and insects, as well as sequins, beads and mirrors. The history of how these garments came to be made is as fascinating as they are visually arresting, making this impressive coffee-table book a virtual treasure in its own right. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Victoria Rivers is Professor in the Department of Environmental Design at the University of California, Davis.

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