Art and Craft of Southern Africa

Treasures in Transition

Plot

A book of colour, history, and change. The baskets, pottery, bead-work and dress so richly illustrated and described are truly treasures, but treasures in transition. While these 'Fourth World' arts remain vital to the indigenous cultures of southern Africa, the growing commercial attraction that they have is affecting the means and materials of their manufacture. Can these traditional arts benefit from this renaissance of Western interest and withstand the pressures of acculturation: or are they dying and headed for extinction? In these pages, this question is for the first time explored in depth. What the future will bring remains to be seen.