Search results for ""author dorie reents-budet""

This stunning new volume features objects from the internationally renowned Bourne Collection of pre-Columbian art spanning assembled by John Bourne in the 1950's and 1960's. It features fine examples of painted earthenware vessels and figures, carved basalt effigies, jewellery and vessels from Mesoamerica, Central America and Andean America covering a host of civilisations, including Teotihuacan, Olmec, Maya, Andean, Aztec and Mixtec. In addition to John Bourne's fascinating account of his first expedition to Chiapas in 1945 and 1946, which started his passion for collecting, there is an extensive essay on authentication, a significant part of the study of pre-Columbian art. Each of the three geographical sections of the main catalogue opens with an introductory text on the art, culture and ceremonial features of that region, followed by discursive entries accompanying each work. Published to accompany an exhibtion at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore: 'Exploring Art of the Ancient Americas: The John Bourne Collection Gift', February 12, 2012 - May 20, 2012.

Read more less

An introduction to the refined, spiritually significant, and often dazzling arts produced by the varied cultures of a cradle of world civilization The ancient cultures of the Americas comprise a vast array of societies, whose peoples spoke thousands of languages and dialects, developed distinctive political and economic systems, and followed myriad spiritual practices. The territory stretching from northern Mexico to Chile is one of six world regions where ancient civilizations arose – joining Egypt, the Near East and Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, North China and Southeast Asia. The intellectual, architectural and artistic accomplishments of the ancient American peoples rival those of the others, including fully developed writing systems, the tallest structures in the western hemisphere until the 20th century, and textiles and painted ceramics of unsurpassed complexity and refinement. The collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is particularly strong in Maya ceramics, early Andean textiles, and gold objects from Panama and Colombia, and throughout its history the Museum has been at the forefront in presenting pre- Columbian artifacts as part of art history rather than in the context of natural history or archaeology. The artworks featured in this volume exemplify the aesthetics and supreme craftsmanship of the peoples of the ancient Americas in pictorial pottery, sumptuous gold body adornments and luxury textiles. Together they introduce the sophistication, creativity and variety of the cultures of the Western Hemisphere’s cradle of civilization.

Read more less