BOOKS 144 African Currency: Monete tribali dell’Africa Subsahariana Edited by Adolfo Bartolomucci with texts by Mary Beni, Lidia Calderoli, Aldo Tagliaferri, Giorgio Teruzzi and Piero Voltolina Published in Italian and English by African Art Gallery, Milan 23 x 30.5 cm, 189 pages, 320 color photographs ISBN-13: 978-8890446917 Hardcover, 40 euros Interest in objects used as currency is supported by remarkably little literature on the subject. While a number of publications are devoted to sub-Saharan form objects and mention and illustrate certain types of currencies, well-documented monographs on the subject remain rare. This work fills that void. The book’s editor details his field research, information that is complemented by texts by various authors reflecting on the varied iconography of these objects. The book offers a fairly complete panorama of currencies from West Africa as well as an examination of the metal objects from the Congo that were used in commercial exchange or to express the social status of their owners. At the end of the book, mention is also made of other types of natural and man-made objects, such as cowrie shells, glass beads, and textiles, that were also used as currency in certain traditional societies. L’Art Colon By Denise and Michel Meynet Published in French by the Musée des Confluences, Lyon, Fage Editions, February 2013 16.5 x 21 cm, 192 pages, illustrated in color ISBN: 9782849752883 Hardcover, 24 euros An African art form that has long been neglected because it has been considered anecdotal or even decadent is what is commonly called “colonial art.” This is an art style that is marked by influences from the European world, both from an iconographic point of view and in terms of materials and manufacturing techniques. The art owes its existence to the demand generated by expatriates in Côte d’Ivoire in the 1970s for keepsakes and mementos of their African experience. While certainly syncretic, this art can be interpreted as an adaptation of traditional art made to ensure its survival. Denise and Michel Meynet have put together the playful and intriguing collection of the colonial art that this book is about. Between its covers, they examine the objects from various perspectives, without prejudice and in such a way that the originality of these sculptures might at last be recognized and celebrated. Les Iles d’Anir, Esprits, Masques et Spectacles dans le Sud de la Nouvelle-Irlande By Antje S. Denner Published in French by the Fondation Culturelle Musée Barbier-Mueller, 2012 18.5 x 24 cm, 175 pages, more than 150 color illustrations ISBN: 978754105514 Softcover, 20 euros This third publication on in situ research sponsored by the Barbier-Mueller Museum is devoted to a subject that is as fascinating as it is unknown: the belief systems, ritual practices, and forms of artistic expression of the nearly 2,000 inhabitants of the Anir Islands of Southern New Ireland. This book is an extension of doctoral research done by Antje Denner, who studied social anthropology, modern history, and international law at the University of Basel in Switzerland and received his doctorate from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, Great Britain. He takes particular interest in the relationship that man has with the cosmos and the realm of spirits. He focuses on explaining how this spirit world affects the ritual universe of this Melanesian population, often governed by secret societies whose most important forms of expression are ritual chants and masked dances and on how these affect their art. In addition to the originality of the subject matter and the sound scientific manner in which it has been developed, this work has the merit of bringing to light a previously unknown body of information about the important iconographic material related to the dances, ceremonies, and other aspects of both ritual and profane life of the inhabitants of the Anir Islands, whom the author visited and observed often for extended periods of time between 2000 and 2011.
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