Shadows of Boulder Hill presents a group of 50 powerful paintings in oil on linen by artist Tang Shuo (b. 1987 in Guangxi, China) that delve into his childhood experiences in rural southern China. This, Tang’s first book, documents the concurrent exhibitions of these works at Fabienne Levy’s galleries in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2023.
Shadows of Boulder Hill marks a significant point in Tang’s career; in 2023 he incorporated narrative threads into his paintings for the first time, depicting young lovers, recluses, and wanderers lost in imagined and remembered landscapes of lush vegetation and wildflowers. A selection of the fascinating true stories from Boulder Hill that inform Tang’s practice, personal and collective, are detailed in the gallery notes.
Shadows of Boulder Hill includes a foreword by gallerist Fabienne Levy and an essay by multidisciplinary scholar Dr Matthew Holman. Here, Tang appears as an artist who has found his voice as he eloquently explores scenes of family, friendship, suffering, solitude, and survival.
The book presents and describes the treasures hidden away in centuries-old shipwrecks: visible treasures like Chinese porcelain, as well as invisible treasures in the form of new knowledge revealed by the ships and their cargos. The stories of seven shipwrecks not only paint a picture of the Maritime Silk Road but also of the development of maritime archaeology in the Netherlands and in Asia.
Text in English and Dutch.
“It is fortunate that a scholar with Professor Abbi’s tenacity, as well as her scientific credentials, was available and willing to conduct this work… The volume is a superb introduction for the layperson to the wonderful world that Professor Abbi has opened up for us.” – Bernard Comrie, Santa Barbara, California.
“For two decades now, Abbi has marshalled the full intellectual and strategic weight of her training, disciplinary expertise and socio-cultural capital to document, preserve and share with the world the voices, songs, stories and laughter of the Great Andamanese.” – Mark Turin, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
The Andaman Islands — Great Andaman, Little Andaman, and North Sentinel Islands have been home for milleniums to four tribes: the Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, and Sentinelese. Their languages are known by the same name as that of the tribes. ‘Great Andamanese’ is a generic term representing ten languages among a family of languages that were once spoken by ten different tribes living in the north, south, and middle of the Great Andaman Islands. These languages were mutually intelligible like a link in a chain.
However, today, Great Andamanese is a moribund language of the only-surviving pre-Neolithic tribe, breathing its last breath. When a language is on the verge of extinction, its history, culture, ecological base, knowledge of the biodiversity, ethno-linguistic practices, and the identity of its community — everything is endangered. This is what prompted Prof. Anvita Abbi to conduct a research study to give life to the lost oral heritage of the vanishing world of the Great Andamanese.
Voices from the Lost Horizon is a collection of a number of folk tales and songs of the Great Andamanese. These stories and songs represent the first-ever collection rendered to the Prof. Abbi and her team by the Great Andamanese people in local settings. The compilation comes with audio and video recordings of the stories and songs to retain the originality and orality of the narratives.
In 1739, Qaraar Ali, a young craftsman from Delhi witnesses the destruction of his world as he has known it. His wondrous city where he found love, spirituality, the friendship of poets and philosophers becomes a desolate, scorching hell. From the embers of his past, a journey begins; one which takes him into the depths of Sufi philosophy. Traversing spectacular landscapes of a fading Mughal Empire, a turbulent Central Asia and Persia, a culturally retreating Ottoman Empire and declining Spanish influence, Qaraar Ali finds hope in the sacred geometry of the Sufis through which he attempts at rebuilding his life and rediscovering love. A deeply passionate love story imbued with spirituality, acceptance, compassion and redemption, The Lost Fragrance of Infinity gives a much-deserved voice to Sufism and its contributions to humanity, art, mathematics, mysticism and science.
In a series of color-saturated, dream-like, hallucinatory images taken at night, this second book in a trilogy by Kolkata-based photographer Arko Datto explores the shifting world of nature, society, and politics in Malaysia and Indonesia. Over the course of 4 years, he has captured both people and animals in confrontation with the changing urban environments they live in, with the subtext of the politics that made this change possible. In a place that used to be considered a tropical paradise, over- development and property speculation have forced residents out and have created deserts of empty real estate where neither locals nor animal life can thrive. SNAKEFIRE is dedicated to this paradise that has been lost to unmediated human greed and ponders the costs of untrammeled consumption.
For centuries, we have studied the works of Cicero, Lucretius and Horace. We draw inspiration from the knightly tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Our knowledge of the world builds on the writings of classical and medieval poets, philosophers, theologians and jurists. But without the diligent monks and copyists of the Middle Ages, these texts would not have been preserved. Today’s world is unthinkable without this transmission of written knowledge.
Written Treasures introduces you to the fascinating world of medieval manuscripts. From the treasury of the Leiden University Library, 50 extraordinary manuscripts are selected: beautiful showpieces but also quickly notated works on second-rate parchment. Thirty-Eight experts highlight their content, appearance, design and their journey through generations of users and possessors to our times. With beautiful illustrations and accessible texts, this book is indispensable for history and book lovers. It is a celebration of cultural heritage and a tribute to the exceptional transmission of written knowledge through the ages.
The hidden art of London is for the ever-curious roamer of both the back streets and the familiar places you never quite see – churches, gardens, graveyards, pubs. What little garden finds the poet John Keats sitting in the corner of a bench? Which abandoned building tells the story of a great Roman Road?
There are always marvels hidden in plain view – the back corner of a museum containing great sculptures by Rodin or the naked, street-corner golden boy, who marks where the Great Fire of London finally petered out. A famous literary cat or a painting by Hogarth on the bend of a stairs in an ancient hospital.
This guidebook takes you exploring London beyond its most famous sights to find the art we have never quite noticed before: the hidden statues, paintings, and murals that have escaped from the official museums, and often live unnoticed lives in tucked away places.
Over 200 years ago, the Mauritshuis hosted not one, but two museums. On the upper floor was the Royal Cabinet of Paintings, while on the ground floor, thousands of objects of all kinds were on display in the Royal Cabinet of Rarities. This rarities cabinet closed in 1875 and the objects were distributed to various Dutch institutions. The temporary exhibition The Vanished Museum about this Royal Cabinet of Rarities is accompanied by a publication with essays by 30 experts, including curators of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Wereldmuseum in Leiden. In relatively short texts, the reader is taken through the rich and often complex history of the institution. The diverse topics and perspectives suit the motley nature of the collection. From a text about an unusual ivory Chinese puzzle ball, to a reflection on the formation of cultural stereotypes; from a kayak on the ceiling, to a hat that turns out not to belong to Willem van Oranje after all.
Featuring over 140 jades, dating mostly to the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), this volume brings together jades from several private collections alongside examples from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong to illustrate the extraordinary achievements of jade carving. The book includes examples carved into pleasingly tactile forms that were carried around to bring delight and inspiration to their owners. Features specially-commissioned items bearing the mark of individual artists such as Lu Zigang of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and monumental jades imitating mountains or ritual bronze vessels that declared not only the immaculate taste of the owners but their wealth as well. This catalog consists of an important essay “Features of Qing Imperial Jades Produced under the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors” written by Zhang Guangwen from the Palace Musuem, Beijing.
To many the words Hill Station are evocative of an exotic and exciting vision when the subjects of the British Colonial Government gloried in the Hill Stations of India and Burma. Beautifully constructed holiday towns built at 3,000 feet or more where people flocked to escape the heats of the plains. High up the Shan hills of east Burma stood Maymyo. This book tells the stories of the people for whom Maymyo really was a heaven ‘lost on the clouds’.
The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the only patriarchal basilica of the four in Rome to have retained its paleo-Christian structures. The Basilica dates back to 425 AD and in this elegant and triumphal photographic masterpiece accomplished at the height of today’s technology, we can admire in detail the grandeur of all its artistic details: the mosaics of the nave; the ceremonial arch dating to the pontificate of Pope Sixtus III (432-440 AD); those of the apse made at the behest of Pope Nicholas V (1288-1292); the Cosmatesque floor; the coffered ceiling designed by Giuliano da San Gallo; the Nativity scene by Arnolfo di Cambio; the High Altar by Ferdinando Fuga; the Borghese, Cesi, Sforza, and Sistine Chapels; and the Crucifix and St. Michael chapels by Luigi Valadier.
The Basilica is Pope Francis’ final resting place.
Tradition has it that the Virgin Mary herself inspired the choice of the Esquiline Hill for the church’s construction. Appearing in a dream to both the Patrician John, the landowner of the Esquiline Hill, and Pope Liberius, she asked that a church be built in her honor on a site she would miraculously indicate.
Text in English and Italian.
Cycling has never lost its appeal. Alongside mass-produced models, the craftsmanship of bespoke bicycle makers has emerged to satisfy the passion of people who ride bikes as a means of daily transport, as a sport and for recreation. This book by passionate cyclists Christine Elliott and David Jablonka is the product of a worldwide search for the most influential custom bicycle makers on the planet. The result is a presentation of a wonderful collection of expertly honed, human-powered machines, built by some of the most creative bicycle makers in the world. It highlights the range of techniques, materials, design elements, and dedication that go into producing a custom handmade bicycle. It is guaranteed to take you on the ride of your life. Bicycle brands featured include: Anderson Custom Bicycles, Baum Cycles, Bilkeny Cycle Works, Black Sheep Bikes, Bob Brown Cycles, Bohemian Cycles, Bruce Gordon Cycles, Calfee Design, Columbine Cycle Works, Crisp Titanium, Cycles Alex Singer, Cyfac, Davidson Handbuilt Bicycles, Don Walker Cycles, GURU Bikes, Independent Fabrication, Ira Ryan Cycles, Jeff Jones Custom Bicycles, Keith Anderson Cycles, Kirk Frameworks, Kish Fabrication, Llewelyn Custom Bicycles, Lynskey, Marschall Framework, Moots, Naked Bicycles and Design, Pegoretti, Richard Sachs Cycles, Roark Custom Titanium Bicycles, Robin Mather, Signal Cycles, Steve Potts Bicycles, Strawberry, Sweet Pea Cycles, Vanilla Bicycles, Vendetta Cycles, Vicious Cycles, Wolfhound Cycles. Also available: Racing Bicycles ISBN: 9781864704822
Robin Grierson’s photography book, Steam Rally is published by Lost Press and has an introduction by the esteemed journalist and author, Ian Jack. It consists of 72 high quality color photographs that explore steam rallies in England over the past 30 years. The images record the engine men, their restored traction engines, and the lively steam heritage scene, which draws thousands to its events around the country every summer.
Having grown up around his father’s bus garage in County Durham and spent much of his formative years tinkering with engines, Grierson found himself instinctively drawn to the steam people and their beloved vintage machines. This collection of thoughtfully composed images, include respectful portraits, close up details of people and their machines, and wider views of the steam rally within the rural landscape. Grierson pays particular attention to the work-worn textures, stained surfaces, and subtle colors of the working steam environment.
“The genuine tone of this work derives undoubtedly from the photographer’s long acquaintance with tough working men and the tools and sounds of busy engineering yard’s” – Ag magazine
Before they became two of America’s most iconic pop artists, Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana were young aspiring creatives, living in New York. There, they met and befriended William John Kennedy, who would take some of the first photographs of these artists in their career. Many photographers worked with Andy Warhol, but few so early on in his career or in a such a uniquely collaborative fashion. After establishing a friendship with Robert Indiana and taking some of the first, important close-up images of him in his studio, Kennedy went on to work in a similarly creative way with Warhol.
These striking images of the young Warhol and Indiana were lost for nearly 50 years before being rediscovered. They were immediately recognized as important documents by the Warhol Museum and by Robert Indiana, and presented in the Before they were Famous exhibition, which traveled to London and New York. The story of the re-discovery of these photographs was made into an acclaimed documentary in 2010 – Full Circle: Before They Were Famous, Documentary on William John Kennedy.
William John Kennedy: The Lost Archive: Photographs of Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana will be the first of William John Kennedy’s books devoted solely to the time he spent with Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana. The book features pictures of both artists as well as images of Taylor Mead, UltraViolet and other members of Warhol’s circle.
“The very existence of AI has rendered both history and facts infinitely elastic. Simultaneously, everything is true, and nothing is true. We are at a cultural turning point -our relationship with the image, and the idea of image as truth -has fundamentally changed. What better way to illustrate this than by convincingly reinventing one of the most significant moments of our own near history ? June 6th, 1944. D day.
Amongst the thousands of soldiers landing that day were photographers. To name a few: The Army Film and Photographic Unit, covering the landings at sword, Juno and gold beaches. Richard Taylor, a sergeant in the US signal corps who filmed the assault. And at Omaha beach, the photographer Robert Capa. Capa shot approximately 4 rolls of film, and sent them to London to be developed, but due to a lab mishap, only 11 images survived. Capa created an empty pocket of history-a pocket that can be filled with ai – what images might have been on those lost rolls of film ?
‘We are at war’ is part of my continued exploration of historical surrealism – working with ai, I imagine one of capa’s lost roll of 36 images – and in doing so, demonstrate how utterly convincing invented history can be. If we can rewrite the past, imagine what we can do with the present.” – Phillip Toledano
Passing Through is a book concerned with nature, and our transient connection to it. Consequently, the human figure is seen only occasionally and rather vague, like something from the imagination or a memory. Nigel Grierson’s visual journey through the seasons, treads a fine line between reality and fiction, in his search for abstraction and spirituality:
“As adults, in search of sophistication, and jaded by the rigours of work, it’s easy to lose the natural sense of wonder, and to take for granted the things that fascinated us so much as children. For Rudolph Steiner, the most direct route to spirituality for the adult, involves finding the inner child via the occupation of playing. For me, spirituality lies in nature, in its myriad of forms and colors, and in the elements; earth’s chaotic beauty. On a personal level this book represents a journey; a return to childhood, exploring woodlands, playing in the dirt, finding little treasures and taking something home as a souvenir; the photograph.
I once heard it said that spirits are in fact traces or energies left behind when beings repeat the same actions over and over on the same pathways. Perhaps that is why we can sometimes hear voices in the woods, even after the people have long gone.”
The catalog brings all the paintings in the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze together for the first time. It is a straightforward, convenient tool, aimed at all types of users, particularly suitable for educational use, for a first approach to the museum’s paintings or for quick searches by experts or those who would like to become one.
Arranging the paintings in alphabetical order by the names of the artists seemed to us to be the simplest and most natural criterion for anyone who was not already an expert. The catalog includes the various names of the painters, and a brief biography introduces each artist. This is followed by the entry or, if there is more than one, the entries on the works by this artist in the museum collections, in alphabetical order by title. Each work is reproduced with a recent photograph.
This volume constitutes an invaluable collection of data, essential for future studies and discussions regarding the paintings. The book is introduced by an exhaustive essay by Cecilie Hollberg, the Director of the Galleria.
Books of Hours were the bestsellers of the late Middle Ages. Books of Hours, Books of Hope provides unambiguous and accessible answers to the most intriguing questions about the use and significance of these devotional books: what were they about, who were the makers and readers, where did people learn to read, did they use reading glasses or lamps, what do the humorous figures in the margins symbolize, and why do Books of Hours feature so frequently in portraits by, for example, the Flemish Primitives?
From sumptuous masterpieces embellished with gold leaf to modest, well-thumbed copies dotted with candle-wax stains or personal notes – each one has a story to tell. Books of Hours were popular among all levels of society, from dukes and countesses to bricklayers and maids. Not only as showpieces, but above all as their owners’ faithful companions, cherished and used intensively.
Lavishly illustrated with masterpieces from the collections of the Bruges Public Library and Musea Brugge, this publication is a must-have for those who wish to immerse themselves in the fascinating book culture of the medieval era.
Publication accompanying the exhibition Pride and Solace: medieval Books of Hours and their readers at the Groeningemuseum in Bruges from 4 April until 7 October 2025.
A Sino-Chinese family find their destiny is inseparably entangled with that of the country they have adopted as a home. Not long before the Communist revolution, Tong, sent by his peasant-parents in impoverished rural China to work with a relative in Siam, has risen to become a rice-trading tycoon in Bangkok’s Chinatown, married a former palace cook and built a large family in the town of Pad Riew. Haunted by the dream of returning to his true home in China, Tong, along with his wife and their five children, are swept along by the torrents of history as World War II breakout and China turns red, while the military strongman in Thailand act out the interminable cycle of power struggle, rebellion and coup d’état.
Memories of the Memories of the Black Rose Cat, the award-winning second novel by Veerapon Nitiprapha, is a generations-spanning family saga that explores the roots of the Chinese diaspora in Siam and how the tragedy of ruined love, maternal betrayal and futile ambition shape the lives of Tong’s clan members, each of them hounded by their own ghosts and burdened by their own sins. All of this is played out against the backdrop of Siam’s mid-century social and political history, the most chaotic period the formation of the nation.
Scenic Architecture Office always starts with responding to needs from body & mind, nature, and society, and tries to establish a balanced and dynamic relevance among them through ontological orders composed by space-time and tectonics. This collection includes 12 representative works in its 18 years of practice, and each work contains design concept, sketches, tectonic details, and photos. The works are categorized in “Courtyard Settlement”, “Extension of Homes”, and “Free Cell”. “Courtyard Settlement” refers to reconstruction of the spatial formtype of courtyard; “Extension of Homes”, expansion of the traditional house formtype; and “Free Cell” test of the new formtype. Through explorations of the formtype, they hope to bridge the past, present and future to make architecture a carrier of cultural memory and the times’ energy, and a balanced and dynamic connection between human, nature and society.
What was the meaning of the extraordinary collection of texts, sketches and graphic prints that Edvard Munch called The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Get a glimpse into the artist’s world of ideas through one of the greatest mysteries he left behind. In this book you can experience The Tree of Knowledge as it was found in Munch’s home, with both loose, bound and blank pages. An essay by art historian Nora Ceciliedatter Nerdrum provides new perspectives on Munch’s most enigmatic project. No one knows why he created this album. Was it a book proposal? Or was it an attempt to organise his ideas?
What we do know is that he worked on the album for several decades, and that it was probably never completed. The most astonishing part of its content is perhaps Munch’s own texts about love, jealousy, life and death, composed in large, colorful lettering.
The story of Ladurée started in 1862 when Louis Ernest Ladurée opened a bakery in the heart of Paris at 16 rue Royale. In 1872, following a fire, the little bakery became a pastry shop and the decoration was then done by Jules Cheret, a famous painter and poster-designer of the time. Jeanne Souchard, Ernest Ladurée’s wife, then had the idea of combining the Parisian café with a pastry-shop, thereby creating one of Paris’ first tea-rooms.
In 1993 Ladurée was bought by Francis and David Holder and becomes one of the best-known gourmet addresses in Paris, a veritable institution with its famous “macaron” as its emblem. In 1997 Ladurée opened a tea-room/restaurant on the prestigious Champs-Elysées, followed by another in the Printemps department store and on the Left Bank as well as the beginning of their international adventure with branches in London, Geneva, Monaco and Tokyo.
In this book Philippe Andrieu, the Pastry Chef at Ladurée, reveals 100 of the most famous Ladurée recipes, adapted for the general public. From the Strawberry Cake with Rose Choux Pastry to Pistachio Financiers and the world-famous macarons in all their variety, this icon of French “art de vivre” is brought to life in a palette of pastries the color of powder pink, light green, bright purple, and lemon yellow.
In the dark days of 1940, at the onset of the Battle of Britain Churchill’s ‘Few’, the brave fighter pilots who battled over the skies of Southern England, found a haven in the White Hart Inn in Brasted, where they could escape the traumas of war for a few hours.
The landlords Kath and Teddy Preston were there to share in the hopes and fears, the elation and sorrow of the men who lived their lives on the edge daily.
Inn of the Few is a tale of those precarious days, an insight into life at the White Hart and its famous visitors. The book includes fascinating anecdotes and archive photographs and documents of a momentous time in history, in which local lives gained national significance.
Australia’s wine history dates back almost 250 years, to the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. The first commercial wine region, the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, was created a mere 40 years later, and by as early as the 1850s small amounts of wine were being exported to the UK. In the modern era, Australian wine became known for fortified wine styles modeled on Port and Sherry. These were the main wine styles consumed for several decades, but by the mid-1990s nearly all grapes were going into table wine and Australia was the sixth largest global exporter of wine. Vibrant, varietally expressive and affordable wines introduced new generations of drinkers to the joys of wine. The popularity of Australian wine has ebbed and flowed over the years but experimentation, innovation and the illumination of newer regions has created a quiet revolution, challenging preconceptions of what is possible.
In The Wines of Australia, sommelier Mark Davidson tastes his way round this new Australian wine world. European immigration was an important factor in the development of wine but it also had a dramatic and negative impact on the indigenous peoples, an issue that Davidson addresses in a chapter on history and culture, explaining how the wine industry is taking steps to involve First Nations peoples in grape growing and winemaking. The growing environment, including the critical question of climate change, is tackled, and today’s most important grape varieties, along with those that can take Australian wine into the future, are profiled. This is followed by a chapter explaining why the country is home to some of the oldest vines in the world. Every region is clearly delineated, its key producers introduced and their wines assessed. The Wines of Australia captures the character of one of the most exciting wine-producing countries on the planet.