Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses
Paul Koudounaris$42.50
$50.00
The sites in this specially photographed and brilliantly original study range from the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Palermo, where the living would visit mummified or skeletal remains and lovingly dress them; to the Paris catacombs; to fantastic bone-encrusted creations in Austria, Cambodia, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and elsewhere.
Paul Koudounaris photographed more than seventy sites for this book. He analyzes the role of these remarkable memorials within the cultures that created them, as well as the mythology and folklore that developed around them, and skillfully traces a remarkable human endeavor.
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Published: 10/24/2011
ISBN: 9780500251782
Pages: 224
Weight: 3.40lbs
Size: 12.20h x 9.00w x 1.00d
Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 01/30/2012