Prestel publishes the most extensive and authoritative range of coffee-table titles about African art.

This book is the first of its kind to look at African representations of animals in order to determine why they are so important in the larger context of traditional culture. On the African continent, as elsewhere, people see animals as mirrors of humanity. In the visual arts, as in oral tradition, animals are described as teaching human beings essential skills, calling attention to proper (and improper) behavior, and being capable of protecting, healing, and even rescuing humans.