Rare Breeds (Shire Albums)

Arts & Photography

Lawrence Alderson

Photography & Video

Shire Publications

Ring-headed crosses of impressive height and intricate design were first erected in Iona and Ireland from the eighth century onwards. This book deals with these but also shows how they were the culmination of a long period of development during the early Christian period. The early sculpture of Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Ireland is examined against the background of the spread of Christian beliefs and practices. Examples selected from the whole of the Celtic west between the fifth and eleventh centuries are fully discussed and illustrated. A bibliography and list of places to visit are also included.

Celtic Crosses of Britain and Ireland (Shire Archaeology)

Seaborne, Malcolm

History & Criticism

The daily routine of Amazonian Indian women centres around the manioc plant, which is carefully processed with highly specialised artefacts to produce cassava bread or coarse toasted flour and manioc beer.

Cassava and Chicha: Bread and Beer of the Amazonian Indians

History

Mowat, Linda

Americas

Chikan embroidery is familiar to everyone as a few rough white stitches on cheap Indian shirts. Its heritage, however, is impressive. Indian textiles were prized in Europe from Greek and Roman times, when their fineness earned them the sobriquet of 'woven winds'. Today no masters are left, but the last to die trained his daughters, who in turn trained the author. Her book records the history of chikan an its sources, analyses the stitches, details the processes and artisans involved.

Chikan embroidery: The floral whitework of India (Shire ethnography)

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Sheila Paine

Crafts & Hobbies

During the fifteenth century the Spanish Crown wrested control of the Canary Islands from the Berber-speaking natives. Over the succeeding centuries the islands have been Europeanised to such an extent that the average visitor might think that all trace of the pre-Spanish culture had been lost long ago. This is, however, far from being the case, as the countryside and in the smaller islands where the effects of the tourist boom have been less marked. In a attempt to disentangle the complex roots of Canarian culture as it exists today, this book concentrates on the material aspects of Canary Islands traditions-domestic pottery making and rural crafts-and, by use of archaeological finds of pottery and of the leatherwork and basketry preserved by the Canaries' dry climate closely parallel the modern craft products. Where appropriate the technologies and practices introduced from Europe are also described. Aspects of the non-material culture-the sports, music and festivals-are included because, although much altered by peninsular Spanish immigrants and by Canarian emigrants returning from South America, these too have their roots in the pre-Hispanic period.

Crafts and Traditions of the Canary Islands

Eddy, Mike

The sculpture of West and Central Africa has long won the admiration of the modern art world. It is a style of carving in wood confined very largely to masks and figures which in the minds of their creators represented the denizens of the spirit world around them. Different regions had their own particular beliefs and rituals associated with them which found expression in very different art styles. Nowhere was this more apparent than in Eastern Nigeria, where the culture of the western African savannah met and mingled with that of the central African rain forest. This, one of the most densely populated parts of Africa, is the home of ten million Ibo, who, together with the neighbouring Ibibio, supplied the New World with many thousands of slaves, and nineteenth-century Europe with most of its vegetable oil. This book examines the sculpture of the different Ibo tribes, placing it in its cultural and social setting and disentangling and distinguishing its local variations. About the authorAfter graduating from Oxford G. I. Jones entered the colonial administrative service and served as District Officer in southern Nigeria until 1946, when he transferred to Cambridge University to become a lecturer in social anthropology and obtained his PhD. While serving in Nigeria he became interested in African art and co-operated with K. C. Murray in a survey of the arts and crafts of the eastern region; they photographed the wealth of masks and figures that still survived and rescued those that now form the basis of the magnificent collection in the National Museum of Nigeria.

Ibo Art (Shire Ethnography)

Jones, G. I.

Sculpture

Before its conquest by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century Peru had a long tradition of pottery making which has been traced back to about 3000 BC in the Upper Amazon. Some of the decorated styles have become recognised as being among the major artistic achievements of the American Indians. An indigenous technology developed without the use of a pivoted kick-wheel, glazes or purpose-built kilns. This book traces the development of the main styles of Peruvian pottery from earliest times up to the Spanish conquest and sets these within their cultural context. It looks at the technology employment, using a combination of the examination of finished pieces, modern potters working with a pre-Hispanic technology. Next the iconography of the principal ancient styles is studied, showing its content and overall themes, with a section on fakes and reproductions. The last section of the book looks at Peruvian pottery today to see how it has been influenced by European technology and artistry, with special attention to areas where ancient technology and artistry have continued or been revived using evidence from field research carried out since 1945.

Peruvian Pottery

Bankes, George

The Gannet is Britain's most spectacular seabird, a heavyweight plunge-driver of verve and passion, thrilling to watch as it plummets headlong into the sea amongst a hailstorm of its fellows.  Gannetries, heavy with the stench of ammonia, fish and seaweed, assail the senses unforgettably.  The challenging, unaccompanied migration of young gannets precedes years of sea wandering before they face the dangers of establishing themselves in the breeding colony.  Then follow perhaps decades of hard work, rearing young. This book describes the life history of the gannet from hatching until death and the formidable obstacles faced during the transition from naked squab to successful breeding adult.

The Gannet (Shire Natural History)

Science & Math

Nelson, Bryan

Biological Sciences

The Red Squirrel

Holm, Jessica

Newts of the British Isles

Wisniewski, P. J.

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Books by Shire Publications