The quality and variety of the Barbier-Mueller collection of ethnic sculpture are astonishing, and only the finest pieces were selected for this all-color, oversize book. These striking pieces came from a vast number of small local cultures, of almost infinite variety, from an enormous expanse of the Old World, more specifically from Africa, Indonesia, especially the tribal areas - today known as Irian Jaya and New Guinea. Due to their ritual use, the rigors of tropical climates and the depradations of missionaries and conquerors, fine pieces have always been a rarity, as they were generally linked to the universal requirements of statehood and religion. Some remarkable pieces, however, did make up part of daily life.

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