Skip to main content

Distributed for UCL Press

Worlds in Miniature

Contemplating Miniaturisation in Global Material Culture

Distributed for UCL Press

Worlds in Miniature

Contemplating Miniaturisation in Global Material Culture

Miniaturization is the creation of small objects that resemble larger ones, usually but not always for purposes different to those of the larger original object. Worlds in Miniature brings together researchers working across various regions, time periods and disciplines to explore the subject of miniaturization as a material culture technique. It offers original contributions to the field of miniaturization through its broad geographical scope, interdisciplinary approach, and deep understanding of miniatures and their diverse contexts.   
Beginning with an introduction by the editors, which offers a guide to studying and comparing miniatures, the following chapters include studies of miniature Neolithic stone circles on Exmoor, Ancient Egyptian miniature assemblages, miniaturization under colonialism as practiced by the Makah People of Washington State, miniature watercraft from India, miniaturized contemporary tourist art of the Warao people of Venezuela, and dioramas on display in the Science Museum. Interspersing the chapters are interviews with miniature-makers, including two miniature boat builders at the National Maritime Museum, Cornwall and a freelance architectural model maker. The interdisciplinary nature of the volume makes it suitable reading for anthropologists, historians, archaeologists, artists, and researchers in related fields across the social sciences.
 

206 pages | 34 halftones | 6.14 x 9.21 | © 2019

Free digital open access editions are available to download from UCL Press.

Sociology: General Sociology


UCL Press image

View all books from UCL Press

Table of Contents

1. What Makes a Miniature? An introduction
Jack Davy and Charlotte Dixon
2. Exmoor’s minilithic enigma
Douglas Mitcham
3. Miniaturisation in early Egypt
Grazia A. Di Pietro
4. Miniaturisation among the Makah
Jack Davy
5. Interview with Cliff Swallow and Pat Howard, boat model makers
Cliff Swallow and Pat Howard with Charlotte Dixon
6. Miniaturising boats: the case of the Indian masula surf boat
Charlotte Dixon
7. Composing Warao indigeneity and miniatures: A human-nonhuman working group
Christian Sørhaug
8. A sense of scale: the miniaturisation of boats and maritime landscapes at the Science Museum London, 1925-1963
James Lyon Fenner
9. Interview with Henry Milner, architectural model maker
Henry Milner with Jack Davy
10. Some Thoughts on the Measure of Objects
Susanne Küchler

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press