Arts and Crafts of South America

A wooden head carved in the north of Brazil to ward off evil spirits; belts woven with symbolic designs from Lake Titicaca in Peru; the beautiful baskets of the Cholo Indians of the Pacific coast of Colombia. Whether from coastal areas, forests or mountains, from pre-Columbian or Spanish Colonial traditions, urban workshops or remote villages, South American arts and crafts show an astonishing vitality. Lucy Davies and Mo Fini have distilled the essence of their extensive research into the creative traditions of this vast area. They include advice and reference for collectors. And with the aid of special, often spectacular photography, they examine all the main media: pottery, jewellery and metalwork; the arts of weaving plant fibre - sombreros, bags and baskets; the ancient textile tradition; painting on clay, leather and glass; wood carving; and extraordinary crafts such as figuras de masapan, colourful and imaginative bread dough figures from Calderon, Ecuador. Mo Fini and Lucy Davies run TUMI Latin American Arts and Crafts Centres, and spend much of the year in South America, working closely with the artisans.