The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses
Author:   Paul Koudounaris
Publisher:   Thames & Hudson Ltd
ISBN:  

9780500251782


Pages:   224
Publication Date:   03 October 2011
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses


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Full Product Details

Author:   Paul Koudounaris
Publisher:   Thames & Hudson Ltd
Imprint:   Thames & Hudson Ltd
Dimensions:   Width: 22.50cm , Height: 2.60cm , Length: 30.50cm
Weight:   1.540kg
ISBN:  

9780500251782


ISBN 10:   0500251789
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   03 October 2011
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Dialogue with Death • 1. Ars Moriendi: The Early Charnel Houses • 2. The Golden Age: Counter-Reformation Macabre • 3. The Triumph of Death: Nineteenth-Century Visions in Bone • 4. Heavenly Souls: Spiritualism and Mythology in The Bone Pile • 5. Forget Me Not: Ossuaries as Commemorative Sites • 6. Resurrecting the Dead: Conservation and Reconstruction

Reviews

Koudounaris gracefully transcends mere ghastliness and ghoulishness to challenge cultural perceptions of death, both current and centuries old. The result is not only a highly original work of great visual beauty and rigorous scholarship but also a surprisingly intimate and tender meditation on what the author calls 'the dialogue with the dead.'


...an astounding achievement, both as a literary and photographic work.


Author Information

Paul Koudounaris has a doctorate in Art History from the University of California and has written widely on European ossuaries and charnel houses for both academic and popular journals.

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