Architectural Reliefs & Signs

A barber in Ghana paints his own sign: a row of haircuts, each in bold color, each one a promise.

Antique reliefs, plaques and signs come from China, India, Tibet, Nepal, Indonesia, West Africa, Russia and the United States. Chinese monastery stamps and seals are carved in wood with Quan Yin, the Buddha or lines of poetry. Brick and stone tiles, altar plaques of arhats and folk relief panels of household gods come from temples and homes. Tibetan tantric water spouts, Nepalese reliefs and Majapahit-style terra cotta from Java carry Buddhist and Hindu imagery. Edo plaques from Benin cast court scenes in bronze. Commemorative signs from Russia and America carry their own lettering and paint.

Wood, soapstone, marble and copper have softened at the edges. A relief panel set into a kitchen wall, or a barber’s sign in a mudroom, adds graphic texture.

Advertising, before it learned to shout.