This book is put together like a jewel and contains a carefully chosen selection of around 100 West African combs from one of the world\u2019s largest and finest private collections of sub-Saharan African art. Featuring a hitherto unseen assortment of pieces assembled over a period of more than 60 years, the book also includes an authoritative analysis by Alain-Michel Boyer, who approached this rarely addressed theme in what was his final work, begun almost ten years ago.<\/p>\n
As well as offering us valuable insights into the cultures that produced these miniature sculptures (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria), he explores the way the form itself is approached. These creations transform what is in principle a plain accessory and in the effort to attain pure beauty, they display an aesthetic awareness that raises the adornment of the body to the level of fine art.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
West African combs: a hundred sublime pieces from an exceptional private collection. A tribute to sculpture and personal adornment.
\nForeword
\nFran\u00e7ois Neyt
\nIntroduction: From Ordinary Combs to the Ornamental Combs of West Africa
\nValentine Plisnier and Najwa Borro
\nHair Ornaments: Exalted Presences
\nAlain-Michel Boyer
\nIntroduction: An Art of the Conspicuous
\nThe Hair
\nMetamorphoses: From Comb to Artwork
\nThe Art of Pomp for Men and Women
\nSensually Experienced Form: Materials and Patina
\nAn Unsung Art, a Vanished Art
\nAt the Origins: The Creators
\nA Contrapuntal Art
\nLevitating Beings
\nFaces in Space: Single Heads Facing Each Other
\nReal Hairstyles, Carved Hairstyles, Dreamt Hairstyles
\nScenes of Daily Life: Decorative Features
\nThe Lure of Geometry: Towards Abstraction?
\nConclusion
\nWEST AFRICAN COMBS
\nThe Iconography of the Comb as A Social Marker: A Baule Music Hammer
\nSarah Boukamel and Najwa Borro
\nCelebrating Approval: A Guro Mask
\nSarah Boukamel and Najwa Borro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":61972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[5523,21580],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-61971","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-art","7":"product_cat-decorative-arts","8":"author-by-author-alain-michel-boyer","9":"author-by-author-francois-neyt","10":"author-by-author-sarah-boukamel","11":"author-by-author-valentine-plisnier","12":"author-edited-by-najwa-borro","13":"publisher-five-continents-editions","15":"first","16":"instock","17":"shipping-taxable","18":"purchasable","19":"product-type-simple"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n