Michael Backman – författare

Bestselling author Michael Backman here draws upon a wealth of new examples, case studies and anecdotes to provide crucial insights into Asian business themes. This will provide a valuable guide for anybody whose business takes them into Asia and will enable readers to get to grips with Asian business and understand how Asia really works.

Knowledge of Asian business is dominated by conventional wisdom, much of which has achieved the status of myth. Bestselling author Michael Backman has researched beneath the surface to reveal the things that you need to know about Asian business and society. Using a wealth of examples, case studies and anecdotes, he provides a revealing and unconventional picture based around key business themes. Business, business culture and culture are entwined to draw the reader from the outside into becoming an Asian insider. Written in the author's direct, sharp style, The Asian Insider is a fascinating read for anyone wishing to get to grips with Asian business and understand how Asia really works.

Knowledge of Asian business is dominated by conventional wisdom, much of which has achieved the status of myth. Bestselling author Michael Backman has researched beneath the surface to reveal the things that you need to know about Asian business and society. Using a wealth of examples, case studies and anecdotes, he provides a revealing and unconventional picture based around key business themes. Business, business culture and culture are entwined to draw the reader from the outside into becoming an Asian insider. Written in the author's direct, sharp style, The Asian Insider is a fascinating read for anyone wishing to get to grips with Asian business and understand how Asia really works.

Bestselling author Michael Backman here draws upon a wealth of new examples, case studies and anecdotes to provide crucial insights into Asian business themes. This will provide a valuable guide for anybody whose business takes them into Asia and will enable readers to get to grips with Asian business and understand how Asia really works.

Knowledge of Asian business is dominated by conventional wisdom, much of which has achieved the status of myth. Bestselling author Michael Backman has researched beneath the surface to reveal the things that you need to know about Asian business and society. Using a wealth of examples, case studies and anecdotes, he provides a revealing and unconventional picture based around key business themes. Business, business culture and culture are entwined to draw the reader from the outside into becoming an Asian insider. Written in the author''s direct, sharp style, The Asian Insider is a fascinating read for anyone wishing to get to grips with Asian business and understand how Asia really works.

This lively, lavishly illustrated volume presents rare decorative arts from Asia – all of exceptional quality – from ornate handled daggers and exquisite silver filigree boxes to diamond-studded jewels, magnificent embroidered silk and divination bowls by master craftsmen. The decorative arts of South and Southeast Asia, and especially those of the 18th and 19th centuries, and trade items produced during the same period, constitute a much neglected area. Such items, which in a Europeanized context tend to be labeled objets de vertu, are underrepresented in public and private collections. While the decorative arts of later Western Europe and North America might be strongly represented, when it comes to South and Southeast Asia, there is a bias towards the ancient, the religious and the sculptural. And yet the decorative arts of Asia of recent centuries is a more accessible and tangible field for many. The relative attractiveness of more recent Asian decorative arts, for which provenance issues need not be so acute, grows as the movement of archaeological and other early material across international borders becomes ever more complex and problematic, be it for commercial or for exhibition purposes. Seeking to redress the balance, this volume presents objects of exceptional quality that are often incredibly rare – ranging from ornate handled daggers and exquisite silver filigree boxes to diamond-studded jewels and magnificent embroidered silk. Only some of these objects were made for religious reasons, and, though old, few are ancient. Instead, they are the product of cultural influences that have crossed borders, produced in the quest for beauty. The catalogue also includes a selection of items usually designated as ‘tribal’ art. Many of these have a decorative as much as a ritualistic component. Among the objects from Nigeria are a stunning 19th-century processional staff , topped with the figure of a queen, two museum-quality divination bowls carved by master craftsmen, and a striking and possibly unique five-headed dance costume. Most have been sourced from old UK and European collections, and most are likely to have been collected during the colonial era. This is important. Overwhelmingly, most ‘tribal’ art items available commercially today are reproduction pieces and have no place in serious collections.

"... With its hundreds of beautiful photographs and outstanding research, it is a magnificent and eye-opening contribution that tells not only the story of the silver and gold items fashioned by Malay artisans but the Malay peoples themselves.' — Seif El Rashidi, Islamic scholar, author & Director, Barakat TrustThis ground breaking new book is the first study of Malay silver and gold to take chronology and place production into serious consideration, leading to a much more nuanced understanding of developments across Southeast Asia. The exciting findings include the identification as Malay of certain exquisite gold filigree pieces held in august collections worldwide.' — Annabel Teh Gallop, Head, Southeast Asia Department, British LibraryAt last, here is an excellent publication that does full justice to the scope and beauty of Malay silver and gold...' — Sylvia Fraser-Lu, AuthorThis beautifully produced and illustrated book, ideal for collectors and curators, is the most comprehensive book ever published on the silver and gold ware of the Malay people of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand and Brunei.Hundreds of colour photographs of previously unpublished items, and meticulous research, are used to tell not just the story of Malay gold and silver, but that of the Malay people, with reference to their princely regalia, banqueting items, betel sets, jewellery, silver and gold-encased weapons, and other items of adornment and finery. In addition, previously unrecognised gold items made by the Malays for the 18th century European market are identified, and other items of silverware now in museum collections and believed to be Malay are shown not to be.Michael Backman also shows how 19th century collecting for museums and private collections, and colonialism itself, all distorted our view of Malay gold and silver today, if not the Malays themselves, and also influenced what was produced. He weaves a complex story, and in so doing reveals the Malays' rich, dynamic and sophisticated legacy, one that is little understood today.'Malay Silver and Gold is the first book on this topic to have been published in over a hundred years. Rightly, it restores the Malays to the very centre of the commercial history and material culture setting of their region whilst placing them in the broader context of the 'Islamic world'. With its hundreds of beautiful photographs and outstanding research, it is a magnificent and eye-opening contribution that tells not only the story of the silver and gold items fashioned by Malay artisans but the Malay peoples themselves.' - Seif El Rashidi, Islamic scholar, author & Director, Barakat Trust'This ground breaking new book is the first study of Malay silver and gold to take chronology and place production into serious consideration, leading to a much more nuanced understanding of developments across Southeast Asia. The exciting findings include the identification as Malay of certain exquisite gold filigree pieces held in august collections worldwide.' -Annabel Teh Gallop, Head, Southeast Asia Department, British Library'At last, here is an excellent publication that does full justice to the scope and beauty of Malay silver and gold. Michael Backman describes and illustrates the full range of Malay silver and gold work with superlative photographs. A great contribution to a very important, but hitherto not well understood Southeast Asia craft!' -Sylvia Fraser-Lu, Author