{"title":"Barbara E Frank","description":"\u003cp\u003eImmerse yourself in the poignant and thought-provoking narratives of Barbara E. Frank. Explore themes of identity, resilience, and the human spirit through her captivating novels and short stories. Start reading now.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"griot-potters-of-the-folona-book-barbara-e-frank-9780253058997","title":"Griot Potters of the Folona","description":"Griot Potters of the Folona reconstructs the past of a particular group of West African women potters using evidence found in their artistry and techniques.    The potters of the Folona region of southeastern Mali serve a diverse clientele and firing thousands of pots weekly during the height of the dry season. Although they identify themselves as Mande, the unique styles and types of objects the Folona women make, and more importantly, the way they form and fire them, are fundamentally different from Mande potters to the north and west.   Through a brilliant comparative analysis of pottery production methods across the region, especially how the pots are formed and the way the techniques are taught by mothers to daughters, Barbara Frank concludes that the mothers of the potters of the Folona very likely came from the south and east, marrying Mande griots (West African leatherworkers who are better known as storytellers or musicians), as they made their way south in search of clientele as early as the 14th or 15th century CE. While the women may have nominally given up their mothers' identities through marriage, over the generations the potters preserved their maternal heritage through their technological style, passing this knowledge on to their daughters, and thus transforming the very nature of what it means to be a Mande griot. This is a story of resilience and the continuity of cultural heritage in the hands of women.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49741529940241,"sku":"NGR9780253058997","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52997562040593,"sku":"CIN0253058996G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0253058996.jpg?v=1763483403"},{"product_id":"mande-potters-and-leatherworkers-book-barbara-e-frank-9781560989509","title":"Mande Potters and Leatherworkers","description":"Among the Mande-speaking groups dispersed throughout much of West Africa, certain artists - including potters and leatherworkers - form a spiritually powerful social class in which gender determines craft specialization. Ceramic water jars and cooking pots are made by the wives and female relatives of blacksmiths. Leather objects such as knife sheaths, amulet cases, and, more recently, western-style shoes and bags are produced by male leatherworkers. While these objects display features common to those of other West African groups, the manner in which they are produced has remained distinctly Mande.  In Mande Potters and Leatherworkers, Barbara E. Frank explores the complex, shifting relationships among the identities of Mande craftspeople, the objects they create, and the technologies they use. She examines their role in the rise and fall of empires, the development of trans-Sahara trade networks, and the spread of Islam, questioning the \"one tribe, one style\" interpretations that have dominated studies of West African art. She also discusses the pride that potters take in their healing and spiritual knowledge and the sense of difference between the craftsmen who specialize exclusively in leatherworking and those who double as bards and musicians. Lavishly illustrated with nearly two hundred color and black and white images of tools, techniques, craftsmen, and crafted objects, Mande Potters and Leatherworkers both displays the beauty of Mande art and illuminates seldom-seen technological and social aspects of its art history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50764354060561,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50764356747537,"sku":"CIN1560989505VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1560989505.jpg?v=1750958901"},{"product_id":"mande-potters-and-leatherworkers-book-barbara-e-frank-9781560987949","title":"Mande Potters and Leatherworkers","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53646685896977,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53646686355729,"sku":"CIN1560987944VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781560987949.jpg?v=1781092850"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-barbara-e-frank.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}