"This unique volume illustrates and discusses in detail more than 160 extraordinary fine and decorative art works of the colonial Andes, including examples of the intricate Inca weavings and metalwork that preceded the colonial era as well as a few of the remarkably inventive forms this art took after independence from Spain. An international array of scholars and experts examines the cultural context, aesthetic preoccupations, and diverse themes of art from the viceregal period, particularly the florid patternings and the fanciful beasts and hybrid creatures that have come to characterize colonial Andean art."--Jacket.

A first installment of a four-book alternate history epic traces the rise of a powerful family whose successes are linked to an ancient prophecy that guides their financial and political choices, in a tale that begins with a Celtic noble's betrayal and culminates in the fall of the Roman empire. 20,000 first printing.