Africa Adorned Book

Everywhere among the peoples of Africa, even those who eke out a nomad's existence, the visitor sees objects of great beauty and style, often of extraordinary craftsmanship. Worn by men and women - whose bodies are also often painted or decoratively scarred, whose hair may be plaited or piled up elaborately or tinted with ocher, animal fat, or mud - the objects are often of great value, cast in gold or wrought in silver, inlaid with semi-precious stones, ivory, and coral.

These remarkable adornments are not merely decorative, as visually striking as they may be. They speak of values and beliefs, of achievements and status; they play roles in ritual and ceremony; they act as safeguards against evil or disease; they serve as a means of propitiating ancestors or gods.

First fascinated by its pure beauty, Angela Fisher has examined African adornment for over seven years, initially as a traveler and then increasingly as a close student of jewelry and body decoration. Traveling from the Sahara to Cape Horn, she has lived among peoples of diverse culture, studying and photographing not only what they wear but what meaning the objects and decorative forms have in their daily lives. For example: among the Zulu of Southern Africa young girls make and send beaded tabs for necklaces to their young men: white beads signify purity of love; black suggest that darkness prevents the lovers from meeting; beads of royal blue symbolize rejection. A Lobi woman of the Ivory Coast wears a lip plug to prevent evil spirits from entering her mouth. Among the desert Berbers silver is considered "the pure metal blessed by the Prophet" whereas gold has links with the devil.

These stories and more, illustrated with exquisite photographs - over 400 of them in full color - provide a view of African life and its chief visual expression that has never been equalled. Fisher's researchers took her also to many museums and private collections, where objects of great antiquity and enormous value have found their way. It is there, increasingly, that the traditional cultureal forms are preserved, as the people themselves respond to new materials and imagery, which they quite naturally incorporate into their decoration. In identifying these evolutions and in studying the distinctive craftsmanship of Africa, Angela Fisher has made an important contribution. Her book is a fascinating, true-to-life study - a guide for the collector and connoisseur, a visual delight for the armchair traveler.

457 illustrations, 414 in full color, 304 pages, 10-1/4 x 13-7/8"