{"title":"Paul Koudounaris","description":"\u003cp\u003ePaul Koudounaris explores the intersection of history, art, and anthropology with a distinctive focus on death and ritual. His works, such as \u003cem\u003eHeavenly Bodies\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMemento Mori\u003c\/em\u003e, invite readers into a world where mortality is both a subject of reverence and artistic expression, revealing cultures through their unique funerary practices and sacred relics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRooted in meticulous research and vivid imagery, Koudounaris' books offer an illuminating journey through the macabre and the beautiful. They appeal to readers interested in science, cultural history, and the ways in which human societies confront the universal cycle of life and death.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"faithful-unto-death-by-paul-koudounaris-9780500027516","title":"Faithful Unto Death","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe remarkable stories of beloved pets - from the famous and unusual to the everyday - memorialised at burial sites around the world, accompanied by a rich selection of archival photos and the author's evocative images of their final resting places.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen a little dog named Cherry died in 1881, his owners arranged for a grave in a nearby gatekeeper's garden in London. At this time, the idea that a pet, even one that had lived as a family member, might be given a dignified burial was considered comical. But when other pet owners, likewise determined to memorialise their companion animals, followed suit, the world's first urban pet cemetery was born. More soon followed across Europe, the United States, and then the rest of the world, resulting in a revolution in the way we consider animals. \u003ci\u003eFaithful Unto Death\u003c\/i\u003e tells the stories of people who gave their hearts to a disparate variety of species, yet were all united in one common belief: that the reward at death for a faithful animal companion should reflect the love it offered during life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLosing a pet has always been a unique kind of pain. No set rituals exist to help provide closure when pets die, there are no readily shared passages from spiritual texts, no community of compassion to surround the mourner and help alleviate grief. And there is a sense of taboo, that it is somehow socially incorrect to mourn an animal as one would a person and feel the pain so intensely. \u003ci\u003eFaithful Unto Death\u003c\/i\u003e confronts this taboo by telling the stories of people who have memorialised their beloved animals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe book addresses the moral and spiritual prejudices that have historically surrounded animals, and reveals how, in the face of these prejudices, a movement started in the nineteenth century to treat pets with dignity even in death. It is a fight that is still far from over, but the triumphs that are revealed as the book unfolds, found in burial grounds small to grand and on monuments humble to huge, possess the power to touch everyone who has ever cared for an animal companion. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn tracing the historical evolution of pet cemeteries through the stories of the people and pets that have been integral to their development, this book reveals both similarities in the way we mourn animal companions and a stunning cultural diversity. From humble Cherry in London to pets of the rich and powerful, this is a history filled with inspiration, wild eccentricity and eternal love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46854514737388,"sku":"9780500027516","price":60.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780500027516.jpg?v=1759245104"},{"product_id":"memento-mori-by-paul-koudounaris-9780500252611","title":"Memento Mori","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA macabre, spectacular and thought-provoking survey of human remains used in decorative, commemorative or devotional contexts across the world today, from the author of \u003ci\u003eHeavenly Bodies\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Empire of Death\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMemento Mori\u003c\/i\u003e takes the reader on a ghoulish but beautiful tour of some of the world's more unusual sacred sites and traditions, in which human remains are displayed for the benefit of the living. From burial caves in Indonesia festooned with bones, to skulls smoking cigarettes, wearing beanie hats and sunglasses, and decorated with garlands of flowers in South America, Paul Koudounaris ventures beyond the grave to find messages of hope and salvation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis glorious colour photographs and informed commentaries reveal that in many places, the realms of the living and the dead are nowhere near so distinct as contemporary Western society would have us believe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47340916801772,"sku":"9780500252611","price":60.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2346973482366.jpg?v=1772177108"},{"product_id":"heavenly-bodies-by-paul-koudounaris-9780500251959","title":"Heavenly Bodies","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1578, a labyrinth of underground burials was discovered in Rome, containing the remains of thousands of individuals assumed to be early Christian martyrs. The bones were disinterred and sent to many Catholic churches and religious houses in German-speaking Europe to replace holy relics destroyed during the Protestant Reformation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReassembled by skilled artisans, encrusted with gold and jewels, and richly dressed in fantastic costumes, the skeletons were displayed in elaborate public shrines as reminders of the spiritual treasures awaiting the faithful after death. For nearly three centuries, these \u003cem\u003eHeavenly Bodies\u003c\/em\u003e were venerated as miracle-workers and protectors of their communities, until doubts about their authenticity surfaced in the modern era. They then became a source of embarrassment for the Church, and most were destroyed or hidden away.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCritically acclaimed author and photographer Paul Koudounaris brings the catacomb saints out of the darkness with this astonishing volume, including arresting images of more than seventy spectacular jewelled skeletons and the fascinating stories of dozens more. This is the first time some of these incredible relics—both intriguing historical artefacts and masterpieces of artistic craftsmanship in their own right—have appeared in a publication, with Koudounaris gaining unprecedented access to photograph in some of the most secretive religious establishments in Europe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMeticulously researched and beautifully written, this is a tour de force of original cultural history, with deepest resonances for a modern audience fascinated by visual representations of death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47596571525356,"sku":"9780500251959","price":70.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780500251959-heavenly-bodies.jpg?v=1777930466"},{"product_id":"the-empire-of-death-by-paul-koudounaris-9780500251782","title":"The Empire of Death","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this tour de force of original cultural history, Paul Koudounaris takes the reader on an unprecedented international tour of macabre and devotional architectural masterpieces in nearly 20 countries. This book brings together the world's most important charnel sites, ranging from the crypts of the Capuchin monasteries in Italy and the skull-encrusted columns of the ossuary in Évora in Portugal, to the strange tomb of a wealthy 1960s Peruvian nobleman, decorated with the exhumed skeletons of his Spanish ancestors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIllustrated with specially taken photographs of sites rarely open to the public and forgotten archive images of others long destroyed, this mesmerising, shocking and deeply moving book is an essential \u003cem\u003ememento mori\u003c\/em\u003e for our modern age.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47599414313196,"sku":"9780500251782","price":85.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/a60c1ef132751c53f013f12875471807.jpg?v=1778023360"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/paul-koudounaris.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}