Crafts of Mexico [Hardcover]

Margarita de Orellana (Author), Alberto Ruy Sanchez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2004

Crafts of Mexico is a visual celebration of Mexican crafts, presenting page after page of full-color photographs alongside essays by leading art historians, interviews with and profiles of leading craftspeople, and appreciations by leading writers. The section on ceramics looks at the famous Talavera work from the colonial city of Puebla, and the fantastical creations of Tonalá and Metepec; detailed examinations of Mexican textiles, from Chiapas and Oaxaca, include histories of the weavings and a study of the symbolism in the patterns plus a special section on shawls. Basket weaving focuses on the well-known Seri baskets from Northern Mexico; tinwork spans from folk figures to cathedral alters; lacquerwork takes an in-depth look at Mexico’s adoption of this traditionally Asian craft; and much, much more. Beautifully illustrated, Crafts of Mexico is sure to become the authoritative work.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Historian Margarita de Orellana and her husband, the novelist Alberto Ruy Sánchez are the editors of Artes de Mexico, the leading art magazine of Mexico.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books (October 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588342123
• ISBN-13: 978-1588342126
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 1.4 x 12.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #952,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful but flawed, September 12, 2010

By 

uncletwinkie (CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crafts of Mexico (Hardcover)

It's a big, heavy, impressive-looking book: nice cover, and the photography is generally quite good, but exasperatingly self-conscious. I have not yet read the book, I got it out of the library for visual inspiration, so this review is purely on its visual aspects. The Crafts of Mexico is filled with coquettish teases: beautiful full-page spreads of sections and close-ups of a piece of art, with no picture of its whole being. So you never know what it really looks like. I don't know where this style of 'artsy' photography came from, it's certainly not unique to this book, but it has no place in a chronicle of craft objects. The photography has no sense of its own craft and function, but instead competes against the crafts it presumes to present. Still, there are also many wonderful pictures of well-depicted crafts which make it a valuable contribution to the archives of Mexican crafts.
It's a book I wouldn't mind owning, but if I did I would be grumbling at the ego of the photographer every time I opened it.

5 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting, October 11, 2005

By 

Wilma R. Bodrak (Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crafts of Mexico (Hardcover)

Although this is not exactly what I expected, I am learning a lot, especially about textiles and the history of them. Well written and easy to understand.

Willie Bodrak