Gold, Silver & Brass: Jewellery of the Batak in Sumatra, Indonesia

The first book to examine the rich jewellery traditions of the Batak people in Indonesia is a gorgeous tribute to a vanishing way of life. Batak jewellery is characterized by a wide variety of materials and forms, and has many functions: jewels can be status symbols, badges of rank, attributes of membership into a certain age group, amulets and talismans, or simply ornaments. Men, women, small children, and even babies were once adorned with gold, silver, brass, bronze, and the gold-and-copper alloy known as suasa.

Today, the Batak wear traditional jewellery only for celebrations like weddings, and these stunning works are rapidly disappearing, melted down or sold. The more than 300 precious works shown here are artefacts of a once-flourishing jewellery tradition.

Hardcover with dust jacket

Book condition: New

Dust Jacket condition: New. Jacket has crease to rear bottom edge

Author: Achim Sibeth

Dimensions: 27 x 31 cm

Print length: 191 Pages

Language: English

Publication date: 2012

Publisher: 5Continents

ISBN: ‎ 9788874396269