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Encyclopédie des historiographies : Afriques, Amériques, Asies

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Nathalie Kouamé
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Éric P. Meyer
, 
Anne Viguier

L

Luso‑African Ivory Salt Cellars (16th century) as an Historical Source for West Africa

Salières d’ivoire luso‑africaines du xvisiècle comme source historique

Peter Mark

Résumé

Produits du xvie au début du xviie siècle, les ivoires sculptés en forme de salières, qu’on qualifie de « luso‑africains » ou « afro‑portugais », représentent (parallèlement à des oliphants et des cuillères en ivoire) le ‘genre’ artistique le plus ancien dont une partie fut conçue et fabriquée pour l’exportation vers l’Europe. L’iconographie de ces objets est le résultat du commerce entre l’Europe et l’Afrique de l’Ouest, ainsi que du contact interculturel. Cette industrie artistique témoigne de l’échange de motifs et de sujets mettant en relation artistes africains et clients européens ; cet échange culturel était facilité par des intermédiaires luso-africains. La décoration iconographique de ces objets montre des thèmes d’origine locale mais avec l’incorporation d’éléments inspirés de gravures et d’autres objets d’origine européenne. Les sources écrites portugaises (1594/1616/1625) permettent de situer ces objets dans leur contexte historique et économique. Vus et étudiés ensemble, les sources écrites et les ivoires permettent de reconstruire l’histoire de ce commerce, en même temps qu’ils sont la preuve de la communication (et parfois des malentendus) entre artistes africains et clients européens.

Texte intégral

1In sixteenth‑and seventeenth‑century Guinea of Cape Verde - the Upper Guinea Coast, including the coastal region of present‑day Senegal, Guinea‑Bissau, Guinea‑Conakry, and Sierra Leone ‑ an extensive commerce developed between local Africans, Portuguese merchants, some of whom settled on the coast, and middlemen composed largely of the Luso‑African descendants of both groups. Among the goods produced by African artisans, partly for local use and partly for export to Europe via these Luso‑African middlemen, were ivory carvings. These art works were carved over a period of 150 years by artists whom the Portuguese called ‘Sapis,’or ‘Sapes’.

  • 1 For a catalog raisonné see Bassani & Fagg, 1988.

2The sixteenth‑century term Sape referred to ancestors of the present‑day Baga, Temne, Bullom, Landuman, and possibly Nalu peoples. The ivories must have been quite numerous. However, only pieces that ended up in European collections still exist. Furthermore, only a small minority of these exported objects have survived the ravages of time. Approximately 150 carved ivories, including spoons, approximately 30 hunting horns (called oliphants), and about 60 salt cellars constitute the surviving corpus of these carved ivories. Initially part of cabinets de curiosités, these pieces ‑ at least surviving ivories that have been identified ‑ are now in museums and private collections.1

3In terms of iconography or symbolism, the salt cellars generally comprise two parts. Above, the bowl and lid of the vessels are embellished with figures, animals, and diverse objects. These appear to refer to human society, often focusing on expressions of temporal power. Below, the base of the vessel depicts animals and human figures. These appear ‑ though this must be considered a working hypothesis ‑ to refer to the spiritual realm; to the rituals that establish rapport with the spirit world, and thus to the spiritual power that undergirds the temporal realm. A sub‑group of about 15 salt cellars does not show this clear two‑part division. The bowl is surrounded and supported by larger standing figures, most of whom bear arms. Many ‑ but certainly not all ‑ art historians attribute this sub‑group to Nigeria, either to artists from the Kingdom of Benin, or to ancestors of the Yoruba peoples.

  • 2 Art historian Fred Lamp has traced stylistic continuities between a group of soapstone carvings fo (...)

4When these salt cellars were initially studied in the mid‑twentieth century, they were viewed as the product of European imagery or models, carved by local African artists. Thus, the indigenous artistic element was minimized. Accordingly, they were called “Afro‑Portuguese,” and were seen as an outgrowth of European expansion. It is now understood that the ivories were very much the product of local artists, building upon indigenous artistic traditions,2 and that ivory carvings were produced not only for export, but also for local African consumption. The appellation “Luso-African” more accurately reflects this African genesis.

  • 3 Bassani & Fagg, 1988, p. 95‑121; see also Horta & Luís, 2013, p. 90: “One of these sources consist (...)

5The visual iconography of these ivory vessels is rich and varied. Some of the salt cellars show hybrid symbolism, while others depict predominantly local African symbols. Still others reflect the hybrid coastal community of Portuguese “lançados” (culturally Africanized merchants who settled among Africans) and their Euro‑African descendants. Some motifs are clearly inspired by or even copied from European woodblock prints.3 Others suggest now‑lost objects of European manufacture, including religious ritual objects, or perhaps decorations from weapons or armor. Most of these possible sources of cultural transmission, with the exception of a few printed books, have not been identified. Together, the written documentation and the ivory vessels offer visual documentation of long‑distance trade, whereas the ivories offer a unique perspective on intercultural communication between Portuguese patrons, Luso‑African middlemen, and African artists.

  • 4 Almada, 1964.
  • 5 Donelha, 1977.
  • 6 Alvares, 1990.

6Were these salt cellars to be studied apart from the context of their creation, they would offer aesthetic value, but they would provide virtually no ethnographic or historical information. However contemporary Portuguese narratives offer both ethnographic information about the presumptive creators of these works, as well as more detailed documentation of the relations between Portuguese traders and missionaries, and also between Luso‑African middlemen, known as lançados, and members of the local African societies. These Portuguese‑language narratives were written by merchants André Alvares de Almada (1594)4 and André Donelha5 (1625), and the Jesuit missionary Manuel Alvares6 (1616). All of them were intimately familiar with Upper Guinea Coast societies. The information they provide gives ethnographic and economic context for the production of the salt cellars. The ivories, if studied in conjunction with these written sources, may then provide additional visual documentation that both illustrates and complements the material found in the written documents. In this manner, the objects themselves become primary historical documents.

7Products of cross‑cultural interaction and commerce, the salt cellars embody that interaction. They provide three main categories of historical information. First, they specifically illustrate trade items. Second, they provide information on local West African religious practices (but only if the symbolism is interpreted in close conjunction with the written sources). Finally, some symbols are evidence of cross‑cultural communication, while other, rather strange visual images can only be interpreted as the unintentional result of inter‑cultural misunderstanding.

  • 7 Alvares, 2016, p. 21‑24; Lamp, 2016, p. 5‑8; “The various ceremonies pertaining to public order am (...)
  • 8 Lamp, 2016, p. 10 and footnote 8, p. 4 ; Alvares attributes Quingle to the Sapes, Temnes (corrobor (...)
  • 9 Lamp, 2016, p. 10. Lamp suggests the name may be Temne.

8Father Manuel Alvares, a Jesuit missionary, lived in coastal Sierra Leone from about 1607 to his death in 1616; his manuscript is recognized as a rich source for ethnographic information about the Sapi peoples, and his “Capitulo Unico” (Single Chapter) recently published and annotated by Fred Lamp, is a particularly important source for the religious rituals of these populations.7 The Single Chapter offers data that may facilitate a more complete interpretation of some of the Sapi salt cellars. The new transcription of Alvares’ Single Chapter provides information that partially substantiates the hypothesis of the two levels and realms, spiritual and temporal. For example, on several of the Sapi salt cellars, four standing human figures surround the base; several are depicted as nude to the waist. Why would they be wearing European pants and no shirt? In his chapter, Father Alvares describes several rituals of the Sapi peoples, rituals associated with what we might terms “secret societies.” One of these is “Quinqle.”8 Alvares says of “Quinqle” that each new initiate enters the grove associated with the association, and there he leaves his shirt. In order to fully join the Quinqle, he must then run a gauntlet of members to recuperate the shirt, while they beat him with sticks.9 Might the figures, naked to the waist, not represent initiates in this society?

  • 10 Horta & Luís, 2013.

9A common source of inspiration for the ivory hunting horns or oliphants are insigniae of the Portuguese crown, particularly those associated with King Manuel i (1495‑1521).10 These emblems are less common on the salt cellars. Nevertheless, the armillary sphere, which was directly associated with Manuel, figures prominently on a saltcellar in the collection of the Ethnographic Museum in Berlin‑Dahlem (IIIc 17036 a,b).

10The oliphants feature hunting scenes that are directly inspired by European sources; this is clearly indicated by the depiction of boars and stags, neither of which are found in West Africa. It is possible that images of hunting scenes were also provided to West African ivory carvers by means of embroidered silk textiles from India, known as çolchas. As Serra Leoa lay on the route of Portuguese sailing vessels returning from India, it is not surprising that these tapestry-like textiles were imported to the Guinea Coast by the late sixteenth century. Hunting scenes do not, however, figure on the salt cellars.

11Other iconographic elements strongly suggest European influence. For example, a basilisk, carved on the conical base that is all that remains of a saltcellar now in Dahlem (IIIC 168), can only have been inspired by an imported model. Did the European model take the form of a woodcut or an engraving? Or might it have been part of the decoration of a gunstock or a soldier’s helmet, or some long-lost product of the silversmith’s trade? It is unlikely that the immediate inspiration has survived or will ever be identified. Nevertheless, these iconographic elements clearly attest to the artists’ familiarity with some works of European material culture and artisanry.

  • 11 Mark, 2007, p. 34.

12A subgroup of the ivory saltcellars represents armed men, standing and carrying weapons, or astride more‑or‑less recognizable representations of horses. Their European weapons include long spears, short swords, and firearms. Thematically, these saltcellars form a subset, but whether the distinctive subject matter reflects a different geographical and cultural origin is the subject of ongoing debate. Aesthetically, they tend to exhibit a “busy” surface, embellished with finely incised repetitive geometric patterns. Many art historians ascribe to the hypothesis that these works were produced in Nigeria, perhaps in Benin or by the Yoruba peoples. To date, no definitive written sources have been found to document this theory. While the present author initially rejected the idea of a Nigerian center for the production of ivory salt cellars,11 recent stylistic comparisons to early Yoruba carving, by Portuguese art historian Hugo Crespo, do show some stylistic similarities, especially with respect to the relative absence of areas of smooth or unarticulated surfaces. One may ascribe to the artists of these pieces a “horror vacui” that is not characteristic of the other group of saltcellars. The latter group is certainly from the region that the Portuguese termed “Serra Leoa,” or “the Serra”. This area corresponds to present‑day Sierra Leone and coastal Guinea‑Conakry, as well as southwestern Guinea‑Bissau. As for the possible Nigerian provenance of the first group, that thesis would require the discovery of written sources for corroboration.

  • 12 Mark, 2014, p. 236‑266.

13The focus of this essay now turns to the “Sape” saltcellars that are clearly from the Portuguese Serra Leoa. These objects embody cross‑cultural communication and intercontinental commerce.12 The imagery decorating the ivories precisely illustrates important trade items that were exchanged between Portuguese and coastal West Africans. The ivories, however, can tell us more. Specifically, a contextually sensitive interpretation of the imagery may also elucidate the precise nature of the intercultural communication that engendered the artworks.

14Trade, in sixteenth‑century Upper Guinea, linked African and Portuguese merchants: some were working under royal contract from Lisbon, while others, including Portuguese Jews and New Christians, were trading illegally. These commercial networks relied upon middlemen, who were generally the Luso‑African descendants of Portuguese lançados, individuals who had settled on the coast and had married local women.

15The salt cellars speak a visual language that centers on wealth, power, and status. These concepts are given visual expression through both material culture and social practices characteristic of local Guinea Coast societies. Thus, for example, one salt cellar is crowned by an elephant on whose back rides a man carrying a shield ‑ the actual shield represented would have been made of elephant skin. The rider dwarfs the beast he rides on. He becomes a visual metaphor, for he embodies temporal power, as related through the title of o grande elefant or “the great elephant.”

  • 13 Fernandes, 1938, p. 70: “Ho rey desta terra se chama Jagara e he muy temido pora faz grande justic (...)

16The lid of another salt cellar is embellished by a large figure who threateningly brandishes a (repaired) axe above the bowed head of a cowering figure, while about them, on the “ground”‑ the lid of the vessel ‑ lie the severed heads of the executioner’s previous victims. Sixteenth-century Portuguese narratives describe Guinea Coast societies and enable us to interpret this scene. Local African rulers were empowered to punish and even execute those among their populace who did not obey their laws. Political authority was embodied in the metaphor of capital punishment. Valentim Fernandes writes in 1510: “If anyone should do that which he ought not, the king orders that they cut off his head and place it on a stake in the road where they travel.”13 The scene of execution amounts to a visual representation of the social contract between the ruler and his subjects.

17Almada is even more direct, in describing the life‑and‑death power that local Sape rulers held over those who lived ‑ or came to trade ‑ in their realm. It should be recalled that ivory salt cellars such as this one were in fact carved by Sapi artists. Almada, in 1594, writes:

  • 14 Almada, 1964, p. 14.

They put in his [the king’s] hands the weapon called queto, the scepter, with which the heads of those condemned are cut off. All the kings of the Serra carry in their hands these weapons, which are royal insigniae.14

18As these examples illustrate, the salt cellars speak in an imaginative language of visual metaphor that closely resembles the metaphors that spice early written descriptions of coastal societies. If the ivory carvings are interpreted in close conjunction with these Portuguese sources that are contemporary to them, they may be seen to illustrate and to complement the written sources. They may even serve as a unique and particularly useful document of intercultural contact, illustrating how this contact functioned on a personal level, with the artist.

Bibliographie

Books

Almada André Alvares de, 1964, Tratado Breve dos Rios de Guiné do Cabo Verde, ed. António Brásio, LIAM, Lisboa, 152 p. [9780332027166]

Alvares Manuel (Padre), 1990, Ethiopia Minor, and a Geographical Account of the Province of Sierra Leone (c. 1615). P.E.H. Hair, translation and annotation, based on the transcription made by Avelino Teixeira da Mota of the original (18th century) copy of Alvare’ manuscript; Department of History, University of Liverpool (privately published).

Bassani Ezio & Fagg William, 1988, Africa and the Renaissance, Prestel, New York. [9783791308807]

Brásio António, 1979‑1992, Monumenta Missionaria Africana, África Ocidental, 2nd ser., vol. i‑iv, Academia Portuguesa da História; vols. v‑vi (1623‑1684), Academia Portuguesa da História, Lisboa.

Donelha André, 1977. Descricão da Serra Leoa e dos Rios de Guiné do Cabo Verde (1625), ed. A. Teixeira da Mota, trans. P.E.H. Hair, Junta de Investigações Científicas do Ultramar, Lisboa.

Fernandes Valentim, 1951, Description de la Côte occidentale d”Afrique (Sénégal au Cap de Monte, Archipels), Théodore Monod et al., trans., Centro de Estudos da Guiné portuguesa, Bissau.

Fernandes Valentim, 1938, Description de la Côte d”Afrique de Ceuta au Sénégal, (publication du Comité d'études historiques et scientifiques de l'Afrique occidentale française, série A., 6), Librairie Larose, Paris.

Papers and Contributions to Books

Alvares Manuel (Padre), 2016, “Capitulo Unico, Transcription by José da Silva Horta and Maria Manuel Torrão,” Mande Studies, vol. 18, p. 21‑24.

Horta José da Silva, & Luís Afonso, 2013, “Afro‑Portuguese Olifants with hunting Scenes, (c. 1490‑ c. 1540)”, Mande Studies, vol. 15, p. 81‑99.

Lamp Frederick, 2016, “Introduction to Manuel Alvares, Single Chapter (Capitulo Unico) from Ethiopia Minor and a geographical account of the Province of Sierra Leone, c. 1615,” Mande Studies, vol. 18, p. 5‑8.

Mark Peter, 2014, “African meanings and European‑African discourse, iconography and semantics in seventeenth‑century salt cellars from Serra Leoa” in Trivellato, Halevi & Antunes, (eds.), Religion and Trade, Cross‑Cultural Exchanges in World History 1000‑1900. Oxford University Press, Oxford, p. 236‑266, 288 p. [9780199379194]

Mark Peter, 2015, “’Bini, Vidi, Vici’; On the misuse of ‘Style’ in African Art History.” in History in Africa, vol. 42.

Mark Peter, 2007, "Towards a Reassessment of the Dating and the geographical Origins of the Luso‑African Ivories: fifteenth ‑ seventeenth Century," in History in Africa, vol. 34.

Notes

1 For a catalog raisonné see Bassani & Fagg, 1988.

2 Art historian Fred Lamp has traced stylistic continuities between a group of soapstone carvings found in coastal Sierra Leone and Guinée, and some of the Sape ivories: “Sapi ivory and stone: revisiting the question of beginnings and ends;” Conference on the Luso‑African ivories, University of Lisbon, Faculty of Letters, March 15, 2017.

3 Bassani & Fagg, 1988, p. 95‑121; see also Horta & Luís, 2013, p. 90: “One of these sources consists of the engravings that illustrate a book of hours published in 1498 and 1499, entitled Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis... published in Paris in 1498 by the editor Simon Vostre.”

4 Almada, 1964.

5 Donelha, 1977.

6 Alvares, 1990.

7 Alvares, 2016, p. 21‑24; Lamp, 2016, p. 5‑8; “The various ceremonies pertaining to public order among the Manes, Calus, Bagas and the other kinds of heathen in this district” Lamp, 2016, p. 9‑20. Lamp’s annotations, which draw historical parallels and continuities to twentieth century coastal societies, are particularly convincing because he has lived among and studied the Baga for four decades.

8 Lamp, 2016, p. 10 and footnote 8, p. 4 ; Alvares attributes Quingle to the Sapes, Temnes (corroborated on linguistic grounds by Lamp), and the “Logos.”

9 Lamp, 2016, p. 10. Lamp suggests the name may be Temne.

10 Horta & Luís, 2013.

11 Mark, 2007, p. 34.

12 Mark, 2014, p. 236‑266.

13 Fernandes, 1938, p. 70: “Ho rey desta terra se chama Jagara e he muy temido pora faz grande justice e se alhue faz o q no deve logo el rey lhe manda cortar a cabeça e põer em hu paco pello caminho onde ha vejan.” For the original manuscript (in microfilm) see Códice Valentim Fernandes, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Codex hispanicus 27, MF 1282 363 Aüfn 1282 363.

14 Almada, 1964, p. 14.

Auteur

Wesleyan University, Connecticut

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