The material culture of the old Cape Colony has been well enough documented in largely descriptive studies and publications. There are comprehensive books on ?Cape Dutch? architecture, on furniture, silver, copper, and on what was the outstanding practitioner towards the end of the 18th century, Anton Anreith.

What Hans Fransen has done in this new volume, is to investigate whether, and to what extent, the surprisingly rich body of Cape material culture ? the decorative gables of its homesteads, the city mansions with their ornate entrances and cornices, the superbly crafted armoires, can be seen as part and parcel of the international Baroque: that ebullient style of painting, architecture and design that swept across Europe and some of its spheres of influence.