Pucci Vpti-cheV Emilio, marquess di Barsento (b. Nov. 20, 1914, Naples, Italy—d. Nov. 29, 1992, Florence) Italian fashion designer and politician. He became a designer when a fashion photographer for Vogue noticed his original ski outfit and asked him to design women’s ski clothes. He is best known for his tight shantung “Pucci pants” and viv¬ idly printed silk dresses and blouses. His colourful, less formal uniforms for Braniff flight attendants were the first of their kind. Later he branched into men’s fashions, perfume, and ceramics. He was a member of the Ital¬ ian Parliament (1963-72).
Puccini \pii-'che-ne\, Giacomo (Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria) (b. Dec. 22, 1858, Lucca, Tuscany—d. Nov. 29, 1924, Brussels, Belg.) Italian composer. Bom into a family of organists and choirmasters, he was inspired to write operas after hearing Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida in 1876. At the Milan Conservatory he studied with Amil- care Ponchielli (1834-86). Puccini entered his first opera, Le villi (1883), in a competition; though it lost, a group of his friends subsidized its pro¬ duction, and its premiere took place with immense success. His second, Edgar (1889), was a failure, but Manon Lescaut (1893) brought him international recognition. His mature operas included La Boheme (1896), To sea (1900), Madam Butterfly (1904), and The Girl of the Golden West (1910). All four are tragic love stories; his use of the orchestra was refined, and he established a dramatic structure that balanced action and conflict with moments of repose, contemplation, and lyricism. They remained exceedingly popular into the 21st century. He was the most popular opera composer in the world at the time of his death; his unfinished Turandot was completed by Franco Alfano (1875-1954).
Pucelle \ptB-'sel\, Jean (b. 1300?—d. 1355?) French manuscript illu¬ minator. Little is known of his background, but his large workshop domi¬ nated Parisian painting in the early 14th century, when he enjoyed court patronage and his work commanded high prices. His most celebrated work, the Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux (c. 1325-28), a tiny private prayer book commissioned by the queen, featured numerous drolleries (marginal designs), a style he popularized, and reveals his genius for using sources from Italian and French art to give a playful tone to an essentially religious work.
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puddling process ► Pufendorf I 1563
puddling process Method of converting pig iron into wrought iron by subjecting it to heat and frequent stirring in a furnace in the presence of oxidizing substances (see oxidation-reduction). Invented by Henry Cort in 1784 (superseding the finery process), it was the first method that allowed wrought iron to be produced on a large scale.
Puebla State (pop., 2000: 5,076,686), southeast-central Mexico. It cov¬ ers an area of 13,090 sq mi (33,902 sq km), and its capital is Puebla city. It occupies part of the Anahuac Plateau and varies in elevation from 5,000 to 8,000 ft (1,500 to 2,400 m), with fertile valleys formed by the Sierra Madre Oriental. The region has long been densely populated. Pre- Columbian peoples had a highly developed civilization in the area, and there are many archaeological sites. The Spanish made Puebla an eco¬ nomic and religious centre, and since the 19th century it has been an important agricultural and industrial centre.
Puebla in full Puebla de Zaragoza City (pop., 2000: 1,271,673), capital of Puebla state, southeastern Mexico. Founded in 1532, it lies on a plain about 7,100 ft (2,165 m) above sea level in the Sierra Madre Ori¬ ental foothills. Located between Mexico City and Veracruz, it was occu¬ pied by U.S. forces during the Mexican War. Its Spanish colonial architecture is similar to that of the city of Toledo, Spain. The centre of an important agricultural and industrial region, it is also known for its glazed ceramic tiles, glass, and pottery. In 1973 the city was shaken by a severe earthquake.
pueblo (Spanish: “town”) Community of the Pueblo Indians of the south¬ western U.S., consisting of multistoried apartment houses constructed of large adobe blocks beginning c. ad 1000. Freestanding structures up to five stories tall were built around a central court. Each floor is set back from the floor under it; the whole structure resembles a zigzag pyramid, with terraces formed by the rooftops of the level below. Though rooms often have connecting doorways, movement between levels is by means of ladders through holes in the ceilings. Ground-floor rooms, used for storage, have no outside doors. Each pueblo has at least two kivas. Many of the pueblos are still occupied; Acoma pueblo is believed to be the old¬ est continuously inhabited place in the U.S. Some of the largest pueblos are at Taos, Isleta, Laguna, and Zuni. See also cliff dwelling.
Pueblo Incident (1968) Capture of the USS Pueblo , a Navy intelli¬ gence ship, by North Korea off its coast on Jan. 23, 1968. The U.S. ini¬ tiated negotiations with North Korea to secure the release of its 83 crewmen. The resulting agreement allowed the U.S. to publicly disavow the confession the crew had signed while privately admitting its truth; the U.S. also acknowledged the ship’s intrusion into North Korean waters and agreed not to undertake similar intelligence gathering activities in the future. An inquiry into the crew’s confession and the conduct of the ship’s commander produced no apparent disciplinary action.
Pueblo Indian Any of the historic descendants of the prehistoric Ana- sazi peoples who have for centuries lived in settled pueblos in what is now northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. The contemporary pueblos are divided into eastern and western. The eastern group includes settlements along the Rio Grande in New Mexico (most notably Taos Pueblo), while the western group includes the Hopi villages of northeast¬ ern Arizona and the Zuni, Acoma, and Laguna villages of northwestern New Mexico. The original Pueblo culture was characterized by both agri¬ culture and the hunting of deer and antelope. Today agriculture predomi¬ nates. Modern Pueblo social life centres on the village. Pueblo Indians have retained their pre-Spanish way of life to a surprising degree. Even though they have added to their inventory of material goods, the basic fabric of the Pueblo social system, community of organization and native religion, with modifications only of detail, has survived.
Pueblo pottery One of the most highly developed of the Native American arts. Pueblo pots, made only by women of the tribe, are con¬ structed of long “sausages” of clay that are coiled upward and then smoothed out. Designs include geometric, floral, and animal patterns. The method was developed during the Classical Pueblo period (c. 1050-1300) and is still being used today. See photograph above.
Puente Vpwen-ta\, Tito orig. Ernesto Antonio Puente, Jr. (b.
April 20, 1923, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 31, 2000, New York City) U.S. bandleader, percussionist, and composer. Born to Puerto Rican par¬ ents, Puente served in the Navy during World War II and later studied at Juilliard. In the late 1940s he formed his own band and rose to promi¬ nence with the salsa, mambo, merengue, and cha-cha-cha fads of the 1950s.
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Pottery made by the Pueblo Indians (Left) Acoma waterjar, 1890, (centre) Santa Clara vase, c. 1880, (right) San lldefonso waterjar, 1906; in the Denver Art Museum, Colo.
COURTESY OF THE DENVER ART MUSEUM, DENVER, COLO.
Always experimenting, he became a pioneer of Latin-jazz fusion. His compositions include “Pare Cochero” and “Oye Como Va.” He performed with many artists, especially Celia Cruz, and he recorded more than 100 albums. He also performed in several films, including Radio Days (1987) and The Mambo Kings (1992).