Crafts

Five hundred years ago, the landing of Hernán Cortés in Mexico marked the end of the Aztec Empire. This volume presents the wealth of this culture with spectacular, sometimes unpublished finds: rare feathered shields, impressive stone sculptures, precious mosaic masks and goldwork as well as brilliantly coloured illustrated manuscripts bring the world of the Aztecs to life.

At the age of seventeen Georg Forster embark ed on a voyage around the world with the famous Captain James Cook. Shortly after his return in 1775 the explorer met the open-minded Prince Franz of Dessau and his consort Louise in London.They returned home with a rich collection of objects, as the unique Wörlitz South Seas Collection proves to this day.

Members of the Daimyō Hosokawa family served the shogun from the Muromachi Period (1333–1568) as samurai. But the Hosokawa achieved fame not only for their success as warriors. As patrons of the arts and artists across the centuries, they enlarged and cared for an exclusive collection which this volume presents through exquisite pieces.  

Created in one piece and without cutting the surface, Peter Weber’s works position the phenomenon of folding in the field of vision of their viewers. The entire bandwidth of his oeuvre, extending back over 50 years, is now being compiled and acknowledged in a two-volume catalogue raisonné.

Arguably the most famous fashion designer of the 20th century, Christian Dior’s feminine fashions were desired, worn, and emulated by women around the world. This new publication by ROM Press explores the brilliance behind Dior’s dramatic creations that revived the entire Paris haute couture industry after the devastation of World War II. In 1947, the opening of the new couture house and the revolutionary “New Look” swept away the wartime masculine silhouette making ...

Monika Kopplin is leaving and going into retirement after almost thirty years as the Director of the Museum for Lacquer Art. She has contributed in no small measure to the international reputation of the institution. To mark the occasion, the special volume “Lacquer Friends of the World” presents 24 artists from eight nations who have accompanied her over the years.

Seen as an expression of individuality and personality, fashion around 1900 became a synonym for the physical and social emancipation of women and progressed to become an object of artistic interest. The clothes designs of famous artists like Heinrich Vogeler, Henry van de Velde, Josef Hoffmann and Sonia Delaunay reveal both a new aesthetic and a new attitude to the role of women.

The history and culture of Europe has been decisively shaped by the exploration and use of the seas surrounding Europe. This catalogue book reflects the significance of the sea as a space of rule and trade for Europeans, as bridge and border, as resource and a place of longing. The book also reviews the changing perception of the sea in the arts.  

In this publication the sinologist Rupprecht Mayer presents 143 Chinese reverse glass paintings from a private collection in southern Germany. Traditional motifs of happiness, scenes from plays and novels, landscapes, China’s entrance into modernity, and the changing image of the Chinese woman define the central motifs.

The inimitable fashions of Stephan Hann are produced from everyday materials like pages of telephone directories, Tetra-Pak cartons and plastic carrier bags. These materials are transformed by the artist’s hand into clothes which fascinate us immediately. At the same time his poetic creations provide us with food for thought.