Word: brazile
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...same, unfortunately, cannot be said for its theft. Although no complete figures are available, police and cultural officials report a large increase in recent years in the pilfering of Brazil's religious artifacts and objets d'art. The booty includes wood and terracotta sculptures, gold and silver candlesticks, thuribles and communion silver - even rare books, maps and engravings...
...Brazil is a particularly rich source of religious art, because during the 17th and 18th centuries it was the only art form encouraged by the country's devoutly Catholic rulers. In the states of Bahia and Pernambuco in the northeast, and Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro in the south, Portuguese settlers built baroque churches dripping with gold, silver and art. But today, much of that art is gone. "The last time I checked, we had registered 188 works of art stolen - that's since 2000," says Vanessa de Souza, a Brazilian police chief and delegate to Interpol. "We think...
...Officials believe, however, that many antique dealers have no idea they are trafficking in stolen goods, because there are hundreds of icons legitimately on the market, having been sold legally by churches or private chapels or imported from dealers abroad. In a bid to track the illicit trade, Brazil's legislature recently passed a law obliging all antique dealers to register with authorities by December. It'll take more than that, however, to trace the stolen goods, says Monteiro...
When it comes to recycling, Brazil's Campana brothers have long been ahead of the curve. The exuberant furniture designs dreamt up by Humberto, 54, and Fernando, 45, reuse everything from old rope to soft toys. However fanciful or arty, their work starts from the materials they find, testing properties and limitations. In abstracted form, the pair reflect the zany practicality they see on the poorer streets of São Paulo, their hometown laboratory...
Given their ability to change the nature of things, it's fitting that the Campanas' current project is designing sets for Création 2007, the Ballet National de Marseille's version of Ovid's Metamorphoses, premiering in Luxembourg in December. Ancient Rome meets contemporary Brazil? Look out for the Dance of the Vestal Refuse Collectors; it's sure to swing...