Quick, Jennifer (editor). 2004. Magnificent Objects. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, Philadelphia. ISBN 1-931707-63-4
Introduction
Magnificent Objects is a new large-format book of beautiful color photographs of artifacts from the collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, giving the reader a taste for the art history of the world's peoples.
Origins and Main Structure of the Collection
The book includes an introduction by Deborah I Olszewski, discussing the origins of the collection, the result of the collective efforts of hundreds of people since the 1880s. The selected images that make up the book's contents are beautiful and mysterious on several levels.
The basic construction of the book is what you might expect from a world-class museum. A handful of images sorted by country or region of origin, subsaharan Africa, Mesopotamia, South America, Asia, Oceania, and others. The images span the history of the art of human kind from a 1904 photograph by Edward S. Curtis to a handaxe from the Lower Paleolithic of 300,000 years ago.
The basic construction of the book is what you might expect from a world-class museum. A handful of images sorted by country or region of origin, subsaharan Africa, Mesopotamia, South America, Asia, Oceania, and others. The images span the history of the art of human kind from a 1904 photograph by Edward S. Curtis to a handaxe from the Lower Paleolithic of 300,000 years ago.
Humanity in Art
The interesting thing, and what makes this book so intelligently edited, is the underlying rhythm of the images themselves. Most of the images are of human figures, whether statues or figurines or effigy jars or carved staffs topped with human heads or coffin paintings. Okay--a little quibble: many of them are gods or avatars, but nonetheless they are human in form. There's even a gold breastplate from Colombia with breasts. Many of the jewelry, pottery vessels and other objects have images of humans incorporated into the design.
Subtle Cues
But the images are more than simply human, they are deliberately paired. A gold chain arranged in an oval faces a carved box lid with oval arches; a striking carved marble head of a Roman matron is on the opposite page from a Mycenaean drinking cup that echoes the pale color and curve of her cheek. Painted Islamic tiles against an inlaid goat's head from 4000 years earlier, emphasize the similarity in natural subjects, interest in curves and splotches of bright color. This is a fabulously interesting book, from an art history point of view, but also from a cultural perspective. How alike, how different we humans are at the same time.
If you can't get to the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology in Pennsylvania--heck even if you can--you should get your hands on this book and stick it on your coffee table where you can get to it time and time again.
If you can't get to the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology in Pennsylvania--heck even if you can--you should get your hands on this book and stick it on your coffee table where you can get to it time and time again.
