Author: Carolin Humphrey
Piers Vitebsky/
Publisher: Duncan Baird publishers
Year: 1997
Language: English
Pages: 184
ISBN/UPC (if available): 1900131706
Description
Sacred Architecture reflects awareness of its relationship with the divine and thus a powerful expression of the human quest for spirituality.
This book is a vivid, richly illustrated exploitation of the symbolism and significance of sacred architectural forms from spires and minarets to pyramids and temples-and of how different cultures translate their complete beliefs into physical structures.
In an authoritative and thoroughly accessible text, the authors explain the links between cosmologies and the construction of buildings, and describe the activities of worship, sacrifice and performance within sacred spaces. The focus ranges widely to show a representative selection of the World's most fascinating sacred buildings, from prehistoric stone circles and Buddhist temples to European Cathedrals and New Guinea meeting houses.
Contents
Introduction
Architecture and the Cosmos
Sacred and Social Dimensions
Ritual and Ceremony
Types and Traditions
Boundaries, Thresholds and the Centre
The Architecture of the Afterlife
Documentary reference