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Betreff: NEW Booklet Aluminium Adorned Von: de ruijter Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein! Datum: Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:24:48 +0200 An: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein! Attached we are sending you the press release about the launch of the new booklet "Aluminium Adorned". It's my hobby to collect aluminium tribal worn jewellery. A special view and a historical document on the use of recycled aluminium. A collectors item for aluminium lovers and therefore maybe also a special gift item for your members and staff. I hope you will publish it at your site or will forward it to whom it concerns. Kind regards, Rudolf de Ruijter African Tribal Art Gallery de Ruijter-van Santen PO Box 557, 8440 AN HEERENVEEN Aaltjelaan 2, 8455 JB KATLIJK/HEERENVEEN the Netherlands Phone +31-513-631130/ Mobile +31-651381263 Fax +31-513-650260 E-mail Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein! Site www.tribal-art.nl
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African women proud on wearing Aluminium jewellery
Recently launched: "Aluminium Adorned", the first booklet especially about the role of aluminium in African jewellery and utilities. A collectors item for anyone interested in tribal jewellery and in particular the use of aluminium.
Over the last 15 years Rudolf de Ruijter & Anneke van Santen travelled frequently through many African countries visiting authentic living tribes in remote areas.
They collected many pieces of jewelry, tools and articles of everyday use made from aluminium. Photographer Riana Jongema accompanied the couple several times and made the productphotos and took pictures on site of local people wearing aluminium adornments..
The collection now totals over 160 items from 67 tribes in 21 countries.
Aluminium Adorned shows the major part of the collection. Besides this the book explains which meaning and usage they have in the various countries.
In the last chapter also the history of 125 years Aluminium & Recycling has been highlighted.
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Aluminium Adorned, 92 pages full-colour in hard cover. Format 21 x 21 cm.
Text Rudolf de Ruijter, 107 jewellery pictures by Riana Jongema, overview map of Africa with tribes and countries, graphics and 14 fieldphotos.
The book is available in two language versions: English-Dutch and English-German.
Pricing 25 Euro.
Free shipping within the Netherlands. 5 Euro within Europe and 15 Euro rest of the World.
For more info and ordering online look at www.tribal-art.nll/book-aluminium-adorned
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Aluminium 125 years
The metal was first prepared by the Dane Hans Christian Ørsted in 1825 but only in 1886 –now 125 years ago -the industrial production has started.
Aluminium is easy melting and can be worked easily even when it’s cold. It melts at 660°C, which is much lower than silver (961°C) or iron (1550°C). Element (Al), atomic number 13, density 2.70 kg/litre, melting point 660°C.
The pure metal is very soft, and so does not wear well. Sometimes magnesium is used to harden it and improve corrosion resistance. In addition, aluminium is used as an important alloying addition as for aluminium bronze coins. Besides, it’s almost endlessly recyclable while keeping its intrinsic strength.
This makes it an ideal metal for recycling purposes.
Africa meets Aluminium
In Africa local blacksmiths recognised soon its possibilities after aluminium was introduced by colonial soldiers who –mostly and at first- had aluminium cooking gear, transport vehicles and –later- aircrafts. Subsequently missionaries and colonists brought similar items in.
Although in a small way aluminium was already found in ritual objects before 1930, after the 1930’s the importance of aluminium in Africa became much larger. The important role of both Britain and France in Colonial Africa is probably one of the key factors for this.
So since 1930 France promoted aluminium (folding) furniture and household gear like cooking pots. Later it also came in on architecture and aluminium window frames are widespread all over Africa since now.
Britain had an extensive transport industry based on aluminium with the Land Rover Defender as one of its major examples and of course the production of aluminium aircrafts.
Aluminium in African Art
The African way of using aluminium is best seen in the reworking by individual village blacksmiths, ornament makers and silversmiths. In West Africa the Ashante used it to cover their Chief thrones, in Mali you’ll find it in masks and desert tribes like Moors and Tuareg often use it in cast jewellery. But almost any African country will have examples of objects in which aluminium is used.
Especially in East Africa, roughly the area from the South of Ethiopia and Sudan by way of Kenya through to mid-Tanzania aluminium is the most important metal adornment. One of the main reasons is the price, which is much lower than silver while from a distance the outlook is rather similar.
Thanks to this, aluminium got its nickname being ‘the silver of the poor’, similar to bronze, which is called ‘the gold of the poor’.
Besides being used for aluminium objects as such it also plays an important role as repairing material. Especially where wood, calabash or leather gear is damaged or broken. It’s done in a very careful and artistic way so that in many cases the post-repair object is nicer than the original.