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This book celebrates in words and images the traditional metal crafts practised for over a thousand years by the creators of religious Buddhist statues in Nepal, whose skills are nurtured with deep respect for tradition, regarding religion, iconography and technology. Wax modellers, mould makers, casters, fire-gilders and chasers are among the specialists of the Newar ethnic group, whose work is characterised to this day by a melding of age-old technology, great skill, religious observance and contemplation.There are numerous books and exhibition catalogues dedicated to Buddhist art and iconography but little about the actual craft of the artists who turn the religious imagery into metal casts. This book fills this gap, with a thoroughly documented and historical account of the development of this "archaic" technology. The well-informed text and comprehensive photographic coverage constitute the only up-to-date account and full documentation of an art that is 1300 years old but dying out: the "ritual" production of Buddhist statues in the lost wax casting technique. The author, Dr. Alex Furger, is an archaeologist who has studied ancient metallurgy and metalworking techniques over the past four decades. The fieldwork for this book led him repeatedly to Nepal, where he met and interviewed dozens of craftsmen in their workshops. This book is addressed to readers interested in culture history, travellers to Asia, collectors of statues of Buddha, metalworkers, historians of technology, Buddhists, ethnologists, archaeologists, art historians, scholars of Asia and to libraries and museums.

Reconstruction at Tresminas in Portugal of Roman mining activities in a primary deposit during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD has been made possible thanks to the excellent preservation of ancient. This book is an important contribution to the economic history of ancient Greece and Rome, the archaeology of mining and the history of technology. Decades of on-site research and careful documentation of the monuments have faciliated the understanding of the work processes presented in this volume: prospection, excavation and processing. Within this framework, prospecting not only served the discovery of deposits as reported by ancient sources, but it accompanied the miners' daily work and was an essential element of the mining process. A special insight into the conditions in an ancient mine is given by the evidence of a catastrophe underground with a subsequent rescue operation. The mining itself has left traces that enable us to both follow and understand the progress of mining over time. The planning and execution that become visible as a result of this allow us to infer a central organisation. The fantastic extensive high galleries of Tresminas, whose dimensions and state of preservation still impress visitors and researchers today are a further example of this. Finds that were abandoned, never completed or destroyed in ancient times are particularly helpful in understanding the mining process. The complex processing of the gold-bearing ores has left behind in Tresminas around 1 000 stamp mills, countless rock-grinding mills and enormous ore washing structures. In addition, the water management system associated with mining and settlement is discussed. An important part of the industrial complex was also the local stone quarrying for the production of stamp mills, rock-grinding and grain mills. A summary of the historical context of the territorium metallorum Tresminas / Jales is presented in the introduction. An important contribution to further research into the ancient Greek and Roman economic history, Archaeology of mining and history of technology.

From the 9th to the 16th century CE, northern Madagascar was settled by the Islamised Rasikajy population who, as active participants in the Indian Ocean trade network, exploited the various natural resources of the island. Among the most spectacular remains of the Rasikajy are finely decorated lathe-turned tripod vessels made from a particular softstone called chlorite schist, which was quarried in the remote hinterland of the island. Over 30 quarries were visited in the course of this project, many of them previously unknown to science. The survey allowed a detailed study of the applied technologies, the petrography of the material and the stylistic diversity of the vessels. The results from this study expand the history of softstone exploitation in Madagascar and provide new insights into the culture of the little-known Rasikajy and how they were influenced by the realm of the Indian Ocean world.

From the 11th to the 14th century, a population known as the Rasikajy lived along the northeastern coast of Madagascar. They developed their own smelting technique. The presence of iron slag in this area had long been attested, but no detailed study had been carried out. Between 2017 and 2021, three excavation campaigns were carried out and several test pits were dug, thus updating our knowledge of this area of Madagascar. Approximately 150 slag heaps located between Vohémar and Cape Masoala were described and documented, representing about 450 tons of slag. All the remains are similar and are linked to a single smelting tradition based on the use of small pit furnaces dug into the sandy substratum, without any clay superstructure. Small lateritic concretions with remarkably high grades were used as ore. Short cylindrical tuyeres with a funnel-shaped perforation were used and connected to bellows. Frequently, these tuyeres were made by drilling a block of stone with a rotary tool. The Rasikajy smelting technique appears not to have derived from any other more sophisticated smelting tradition around the Indian Ocean. Rather, it seems to have independently emerged from basic smithing techniques. The study of the slag shows a poor control of the smelting process. It appears that iron production remained a sporadic and unspecialized activity. It is even likely that this production was insufficient to meet the local need for metal, and that they had to rely on imports through the Indian Ocean trade.

a fascinating work on conjuring history, a unique relic of baroque entertainment culturethe new standard work; 300 previously unknown illustrationsa facsimile of a unique blow book from the seventeenth centuryThomas Stauss discovered a unique picture album (Disegni Antichi Bizzarri, produced in Italy at around 1650) in Paris at the end of the 1990s. Magic Metamorphosis – a new monograph on picture transformation books (‘blow books’) – consists of two large-format volumes in a slipcase: a high-quality facsimile reproduction of the 17th-century picture album, and a richly illustrated explanatory volume. The facsimile volume includes the notched ‘indexing’ necessary to demonstrate its original function as a blow book.The album’s drawings are fascinating—a bizarre mixture of the most diverse motifs: animals, flowers, soldiers, fire-breathing devils and dragons. The seemingly illogical sequence of the individual images also appears bizarre. What purpose should the volume serve?The blow book (also: picture transformation book, flick book, and 'magic colouring book' in its modern variations) is a classic centuries-old magic trick. As early as the 17th century, it was customary for the magician to get a spectator to blow on the book during the performance--a kind of magical gesture, and the origin of the term 'blow book'. Blow books were used in performances in all social circles: in royal houses, at fairs, in taverns and on the street.A blow book contains repeated sequences of pictures that allow an optical illusion facilitating the performance of an amazing magic trick. Leafing through the book, the performer can manipulate it, showing the audience a desired picture motif to magical effect.Facsimile volume: 336pp, faithfully reproduced from the original complete with notched 'indexing', printed on heavy art paper in full colour throughoutExplanatory volume: 248pp, printed on heavy art paper, profusely illustrated in colour throughout; the monograph is fully referenced and annotated, complete with an Index of proper names and Bibliography

Roger Federer is the global star who emerged from our very midst. Mad about ball sports from a young age, his playfulness and passion pushed him further and further - and on to dizzying heights. His sporting exploits are well-known, but who is the man behind them? For the last twenty years, Zurich-based journalist Simon Graf has followed Federer's triumphant journey through the great tennis arenas of the world for the Swiss press. Here, he answers the key questions: how did a hot-tempered teenager become a Zen master on the courts? What part did his parents and his wife Mirka have to play? How did he maintain his joy for all these years? Why does he owe eternal thanks to his rival, Rafael Nadal? Why did he stay so normal? And what can we learn from him?Over the years, the author held countless interviews with Federer and people from his family and sporting life and now shows him from all of his many sides - as a hot-headed teenager, a tennis genius, son, husband and father, an inspiration, strategist, manager of his own talent, victor and loser, businessman, exceptional athlete, philanthropist and more. The Federer phenomenon is captured over fifteen thematically arranged chapters. And there's no shortage of anecdotes: the book is as entertaining as Federer's game.