Splendid Symbols
Splendid Symbols

Author: Mattiebelle Gittinger

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13:

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The Indonesian world is full of wonders and possesses an almost unrivalled variety of cultural manifestations within its compass. Amongst the lesser known aspects of Indonesia's rich cultural heritage - at least until recent times - has been the wealth of artistry in her textiles. Indonesian textiles have played a far more extensive and significant role than as mere sources of apparel or articles of trade. They have formed an integral part of the lives, beliefs and traditions of the diverse peoples of the islands and have reflected the intricate complexity of a vigorous indigenous culture flourishing in an immense variety of forms. Splendid Symbols was first published by The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C., in 1979 and reprinted with additional colour plates by Oxford University Press in 1985. This edition, enhanced by further colour plates and an updated bibliography serves not only as an introduction to the textiles of Indonesia themselves, but also as an introduction to the culture of the people who produce them.

Signs of Recognition
Signs of Recognition

Author: Webb Keane

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2023-09-01

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 0520917634

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Webb Keane argues that by looking at representations as concrete practices we may find them to be thoroughly entangled in the tensions and hazards of social existence. This book explores the performances and transactions that lie at the heart of public events in contemporary Anakalang, on the Indonesian island of Sumba. Weaving together sharply observed narrative, close analysis of poetic speech and valuable objects, and far-reaching theoretical discussion, Signs of Recognition explores the risks endemic in representational practices. An awareness of risk is embedded in the very forms of ritual speech and exchange. The possibilities for failure and slippage reveal people's mutual vulnerabilities and give words and things part of their power. Keane shows how the dilemmas posed by the effort to use and control language and objects are implicated with general problems of power, authority, and agency. He persuades us to look differently at ideas of voice and value. Integrating the analysis of words and things, this book contributes to a wide range of fields, including linguistic anthropology, cultural studies, social theory, and the studies of material culture, art, and political economy.