Beads and Bead Makers: Gender, Material Culture and Meaning (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781859739952)

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.

Author: Lidia D. Sciama
ISBN-10: 1859739954
ISBN-13: 9781859739952
Publisher: Berg 3pl
Language: English
Published: 05/01/1998
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.12lbs
Size: 9.38h x 6.16w x 0.69d