Illustrated book for the special exhibition "Oracle - A look into the future", Museum Rietberg Zurich, 1999 (382 pages), one of the most elaborate exhibition projects, graphically excellently designed, with loans from around 50 international institutions (including the Museum of Ethnology in Munich, now the Museum of Five Continents), primarily from the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. It ranges from oracles from prehistoric times to tarot cards. The Oracle of Delphi enjoyed great prestige in ancient times and ambiguous answers were a way of being right. Of interest here: Croesus successfully asked Pythia about his favorite dish, namely turtle cooked together with lamb. The oracles of prehistoric times include turtle oracles (from 221 BC), with characters in the smoother inside of the shells (see also my replica of such an oracle, brought back from Beijing). Also worth mentioning are animal and friction oracles from Africa (often made of wood, but also with shells made from the back shell of a turtle with parallel poultry bones) and a natural-looking turtle with "Eight Trigrams" from China (unglazed stoneware from the Han Dynasty, 25 - 220 AD). The diagram is said to be connected to a turtle that emerged from the Luo River. The title of the second book, with good photos, speaks for itself. [hint: this is an automatic translation from German]   |   Category: Non-fiction books   |   Material: Papier   |   Country of origin: Zurich, Switzerland | Similar pieces