Mirrors of Clay: Reflections of Ancient Andean Life in Ceramics from the Sam Olden Collection features photographs and descriptions of sixty ceramic vessels from ancient Andean American cultures; including the Cupisnique; Chaviacute;n; Vicuacute;s; Nazca; Moche; Tiwanaku; Lambayeque; and Chimuacute;; which flourished between 1200 BCE and 1550 CE. These distinctive ceramic vessels; selected from the collection of Sam Olden; were given to the Mississippi Museum of Art and are included in a special exhibition presented by the museum and Jackson State University. The pieces reveal each cultures stylistic aesthetics; religious ideologies; and political roles.The Pre-Columbian ceramic vessels presented in this catalogue are mainly from the Andean region of South America; which includes the modern countries of Ecuador; Peru; and Bolivia. By analyzing technologies; forms; and decorative designs; author Yumi Park reveals the unique aesthetics; social stratifications; religious ideologies; and political roles within each culture. Ancient Andean potters expressed their native individualities by depicting the forms of warriors; deities; architecture; flora; fauna; and daily life on their ceramic vessels.Collector Sam Olden lived in Peru during the 1960s. After visiting various archaeological sites and museums; including the Rafael Larco Herrera Museum in Peru; he became enamored with the ceramic vessels of the ancient Andes. Olden later settled in Yazoo City; Mississippi; and began to build an extensive collection of ancient Andean ceramics; eventually making a large donation to the Mississippi Museum of Art. Because of his passion for these artifacts; the people of Mississippi are now afforded a window on the ancient Andean world. The Sam Olden Collection gives us tangible and visible evidence of the social activities; political events; and ideological beliefs of ancient Andean cultures.
#2515728 in eBooks 2012-11-08 2012-11-08File Name: B00A4ZNHBU
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Jerry Bywaters: Interpreter of the SouthwestBy Cindy BellingerThis coffee-table book is a retrospective of artist Jerry Bywaters; 1906-1989. A Texan; he traveled throughout the southwest and the book displays paintings and sketchings from New Mexico; Arizona; Colorado and West Texas. Whats interesting; the chosen samplings showcase his career ranging from architecturally correct buildings to stylized houses; from folk-artish figures to studio portraits. Some paintings are impressionistic; others influenced by Mexican muralism. As the text says; Bywaters was fond of visual ironies and some pieces juxtapose incongruent objects; though still within a theme: a skull; spur and arrowhead.Equally at home in oil; watercolor; tempera and pastel; Bywaters left behind a solid legacy of the Southwest. The book has 77 illustrations and color plates. Old photos help set his work into a time frame; generally 1930-1970. His rendered deserted streets deepen a regional nostalgia of the West.