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Scale and the Incas
A groundbreaking work on how the topic of scale provides an entirely new understanding of Inca material culture
Although questions of form and style are fundamental to art history, the issue of scale has been surprisingly neglected. Yet, scale and scaled relationships are essential to the visual cultures of many societies from around the world, especially in the Andes. In Scale and the Incas , Andrew Hamilton presents a groundbreaking theoretical framework for analyzing scale, and then applies this approach to Inca art, architecture, and belief systems.
The Incas were one of humanity's great civilizations, but their lack of a written language has prevented widespread appreciation of their sophisticated intellectual tradition. Expansive in scope, this book examines many famous works of Inca art including Machu Picchu and the Dumbarton Oaks tunic, more enigmatic artifacts like the Sayhuite Stone and Capacocha offerings, and a range of relatively unknown objects in diverse media including fiber, wood, feathers, stone, and metalwork. Ultimately, Hamilton demonstrates how the Incas used scale as an effective mode of expression in their vast multilingual and multiethnic empire.
Lavishly illustrated with stunning color plates created by the author, the book's pages depict artifacts alongside scale markers and silhouettes of hands and bodies, allowing readers to gauge scale in multiple ways. The pioneering visual and theoretical arguments of Scale and the Incas not only rewrite understandings of Inca art, but also provide a benchmark for future studies of scale in art from other cultures.
Although questions of form and style are fundamental to art history, the issue of scale has been surprisingly neglected. Yet, scale and scaled relationships are essential to the visual cultures of many societies from around the world, especially in the Andes. In Scale and the Incas , Andrew Hamilton presents a groundbreaking theoretical framework for analyzing scale, and then applies this approach to Inca art, architecture, and belief systems.
The Incas were one of humanity's great civilizations, but their lack of a written language has prevented widespread appreciation of their sophisticated intellectual tradition. Expansive in scope, this book examines many famous works of Inca art including Machu Picchu and the Dumbarton Oaks tunic, more enigmatic artifacts like the Sayhuite Stone and Capacocha offerings, and a range of relatively unknown objects in diverse media including fiber, wood, feathers, stone, and metalwork. Ultimately, Hamilton demonstrates how the Incas used scale as an effective mode of expression in their vast multilingual and multiethnic empire.
Lavishly illustrated with stunning color plates created by the author, the book's pages depict artifacts alongside scale markers and silhouettes of hands and bodies, allowing readers to gauge scale in multiple ways. The pioneering visual and theoretical arguments of Scale and the Incas not only rewrite understandings of Inca art, but also provide a benchmark for future studies of scale in art from other cultures.
- GenresArtAnthropologyHistory
304 pages, Hardcover
Published June 5, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 8, 2021
Thought provoking, well researched/ illustrated
It’s clear the author has a deep understanding of the Inca culture, legacy, and history. The thing he accomplishes most brilliantly in this book is identifying the western bias that we’ve unthinkingly brought to our appreciation of Incan cultural artifacts and practices. The best example of this is central to the point of his book: miniatures and sculptures are not seen as a representation or “reminder” of something (like a statue of a llama), but are seen as something functional. Offering a gold statuette of a llama is seen as a magical act which will be returned with an abundance of llamas. Although he doesn’t use the term “magical”, it seems that this magical way of thinking was deeply embedded into Incan thought. As another example, he points to the storing of the ashes of deceased emperors in the Punchau (or golden sun disk) as drawing a connection between the Emperor and the sun, the supreme divinity, establishing a link between the divinity of the emperor and the sun, and enlivening the sun disk in the process.
The author quotes intelligently and discerningly from historical sources, reading not just what was written, but reversing the filter of religious and cultural bias from the time it was written. He does this in an exemplary way, arriving closer to the true nature of the Inca culture as he does so, and supporting his assertions with archeological finds and logic. Why, he questions, would there be reduced-scale spindles made of silver? He draws upon historical accounts of ceremonies to give an answer, and at the same time breathes the meaning into them that the Spanish chroniclers missed.
I would love to read more from this author, as it’s clear that he has a profound knowledge of the many facets of Inca culture and history. The author frames the crux of the Inca culture as a relationship of “scale”, where scale is used to create connections between people, the earth, the sky, the future, and the past. In so doing, he makes sense of the rituals, practices, and artifacts that we know of, and may have puzzled over. At the end, he tantalizingly asks: “The ultimate question—and one whose answers sands of the desert coast—is how did this recurring attention to scale originate?” I would love for the author to try and answer this question, as it’s clear there was some cultural turning point that lead to this worldview.
Finally, the illustrations in this book are an inspiration. They are meticulously drawn (by hand) and show the relative scale of all the objects in question, reinforcing his message that scale is an important aspect of understanding culture.
I wish there were more scholars like Andrew Hamilton that were deeply knowledgeable about their subjects to the point that they could step outside of their own cultural biases (or at least try), in order to understand art from the point of view of the culture being studied.
It’s clear the author has a deep understanding of the Inca culture, legacy, and history. The thing he accomplishes most brilliantly in this book is identifying the western bias that we’ve unthinkingly brought to our appreciation of Incan cultural artifacts and practices. The best example of this is central to the point of his book: miniatures and sculptures are not seen as a representation or “reminder” of something (like a statue of a llama), but are seen as something functional. Offering a gold statuette of a llama is seen as a magical act which will be returned with an abundance of llamas. Although he doesn’t use the term “magical”, it seems that this magical way of thinking was deeply embedded into Incan thought. As another example, he points to the storing of the ashes of deceased emperors in the Punchau (or golden sun disk) as drawing a connection between the Emperor and the sun, the supreme divinity, establishing a link between the divinity of the emperor and the sun, and enlivening the sun disk in the process.
The author quotes intelligently and discerningly from historical sources, reading not just what was written, but reversing the filter of religious and cultural bias from the time it was written. He does this in an exemplary way, arriving closer to the true nature of the Inca culture as he does so, and supporting his assertions with archeological finds and logic. Why, he questions, would there be reduced-scale spindles made of silver? He draws upon historical accounts of ceremonies to give an answer, and at the same time breathes the meaning into them that the Spanish chroniclers missed.
I would love to read more from this author, as it’s clear that he has a profound knowledge of the many facets of Inca culture and history. The author frames the crux of the Inca culture as a relationship of “scale”, where scale is used to create connections between people, the earth, the sky, the future, and the past. In so doing, he makes sense of the rituals, practices, and artifacts that we know of, and may have puzzled over. At the end, he tantalizingly asks: “The ultimate question—and one whose answers sands of the desert coast—is how did this recurring attention to scale originate?” I would love for the author to try and answer this question, as it’s clear there was some cultural turning point that lead to this worldview.
Finally, the illustrations in this book are an inspiration. They are meticulously drawn (by hand) and show the relative scale of all the objects in question, reinforcing his message that scale is an important aspect of understanding culture.
I wish there were more scholars like Andrew Hamilton that were deeply knowledgeable about their subjects to the point that they could step outside of their own cultural biases (or at least try), in order to understand art from the point of view of the culture being studied.
August 9, 2020
Excellent drawings and illustrations. Those are clearly the main selling point for the book. The beginning was a bit slow. I would have preferred a more general introduction to the Inca culture over the introduction to various technical aspects of scale (which don’t seem to get referred to much later in the book). Overall, the second half of the book is much better. Until about half way through, I wasn’t convinced about the importance of scale for the Inca. But by the end, I think I agree!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews