Elemental Art of the Indonesian Archipelago: Selections from the… (edition 2005)

A book of Indonesian art has been on my short list for quite some time now. Such books are generally few and far between, Indonesia usually being relegated with other unpopular countries to S.E. Asian art surveys. So stumbling upon this at Powell's in brand, spanking, new condition was quite a find.
This book is a publication of the Mingei International Museum located in California which, despite its obscurity, sure knows how to do an art book. This 'coffee table' hardbound book with dust jacket in approx. 248 pps is printed by Toppa Publishing of Japan, another company I never knew existed. Not to put too fine a point on it, Toppa knows what high end art books are about, for the pages of this book are robust and redolent of quality, containing reproductions that are sharp, glossy, and practically juicy.
I can't speak highly enough about the look of this book.
A part of this look is its clean, uncluttered, format which was attained by including only the bare minimum of information about each of the exhibited items which range from unbelievably giant masks, to carved stone and wooden statues, to personal adornments, to the most elaborate, unimaginably intricate textile designs on the face of the earth (including some batik patterns that will stun your visual sense).
While a part of one wishes there were more information included about the artifacts, of which more than a dozen different island/tribal origins are identified, another part is thankful for the ultra clean nature of the text-based interface. Plus, this literary silence is made right by the inclusion of the most extensive bibliography of primary sources on Indonesian art that one is likely to ever run into. There is at least a year's worth of reading there for anyone who wishes to delve deeply and obsessively into the subject.
While Indonesian art is not exactly a hot topic today, it would be a disservice to you if I did not recommend that you buy this book; and if you are building a substantial library of fine art books -fine in both senses, fine-art (although ostensibly folk art, the textiles photographed here are anything but folksy) and fine art-books- you would be foolish to pass over this one. [amazon]