Masks Heads And Faces

This beautifully illustrated book explores the history and symbolism of masks, heads, and faces in art from around the world. From classical Greece to modern Japan, it looks at the ways that different cultures have used these forms to express complex ideas and emotions. With insightful commentary and stunning visuals, it is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of art and culture. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from Masks, Heads, and Faces: With Some Considerations Respecting the Rise and Development of Art The progress of the development of the human intellect is marked by inventions that may be compared in the history of mankind to numerous mile-stones, showing in the perspective of years the way by which men have arrived at the present conditions of civilization. And the far-reaching significance of these inventions, the ever-lessening mile-stones of human endeavor which reach out to the very horizon of primitive life, can be only gauged retrospectively. In the history of the rise and development of art the student retraces the steps of men, noting at last the first concepts that led to expression. To him the chipping a stone in accordance with a preconceived form shows a special power latent in the human species, and the crudest implement marks an era in the evolution of intellectual forces. Form and shape have a paramount significance since they are expressions of an idea; the choice of these declare individuality. In pictographic writing, in ideographic decorations, totemic marks, and vase embellishments, he discovers a world of ideas. Here are expressions of beliefs, of superstitions and indestructible aspirations. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

For at least 20,000 years, masking has been a mark of cultural evolution and an indication of magical-religious sophistication in society. Ancient cave paintings depict figures with animal masks; early Egyptians left images of humans with animal heads; and Incan burial chambers contained masks of gold to cover the faces of the dead. Ancient peoples wore masks to survive the elements, succeed in combat, confirm their identity, attract spouses, celebrate important events, and venerate their personal and collective gods. Current literature suggests an early association between masking and pietistic practice. These and many other uses of masking are an important part of the record of human existence, shedding light on the origins of belief systems and spiritualism in the earliest human societies. Placing the mask in the broader context of the evolution of humanity, this book argues that the mask itself should not be assessed in the service of any single function. Instead, the chapters integrate all functions to provide a comprehensive understanding of the mask as a powerful cultural phenomenon--a means by which individual communities attempted to communicate their dignity and sense of purpose, as well as to establish a continuum between the natural and supernatural worlds. The book addresses the distinctive environments within which masks flourished, and the mask is analyzed as a manifestation of art, ethnology and anthropology. The discussion is augmented by more than 100 illustrations of masks chosen for what they reveal about fundamental emotional and spiritual perspectives, as well as for their different styles, shapes, and designs.

"Father Berard Haile (d. 1955) spent a lifetime studying and recording Navajo ceremonial practices. His ethnographic work was held in wide regard by contemporary anthropologists, and he is still commonly cited by present-day students of Navajo ceremonialism." "Originally issued in a limited edition in 1947, Head and Face Masks in Navaho Ceremonialism presents information on masks and their uses, most of it obtained in 1908 from one family of singers and supplemented over the following forty years. It offers a detailed account of the necessary attributes of Navajo masks and their construction. At the heart of the book is a day-by-day account of the nine-day Nightway healing practice, now the primary ceremony in which masks are used. There is also a discussion of two masks Haile attributes to the Upward Reaching Way, no longer practiced. An addendum by Robert Young updates Haile's Navajo orthography." "In this work, Haile reports what he was told with a minimum of interpretation, assumption, or opinion. The result is a Navajo account of the origin of the ye'ii or Holy People whom the masks and associated sand paintings personify."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved