Tusk

Object Details

Kongo artist

Label Text

This ivory tusk, dating to the late 19th century, is an example of an important tradition of export art. It was carved by an artist who lived along the Loango coast in the Congo region. Almost certainly using iron tools, he rendered with detail a series of pictorial sequences in relief that spiral the length of the tusk. Figures in the scenes depict everyday Loango life as experienced by coastal peoples during the latter half of the 19th century. Although severely damaged (broken through the center and missing its top figure or loop) it has interesting imagery that relate to trade and local traditions.

The scenes are separate vignettes and not meant to be read as a continuous story. Among the important representations on the tusk are: a coastal trading house with flag, African bearers in chains, Africans in western dress, blacksmith with bellows, snake, bird, monkey, snail shells.The snail shells may be interpreted as containers for ritual materials.

Certain motifs and details of the horn combined with its narrative composition point toward an interpretation that is linked to Kongo notions of death and the afterlife.

The earlier tradition of nonfigurative Kongo ivory horns carved and played in Kongo courts can be compared with the later figurative Kongo ivory horns carved for export to Europe. The spiral form is an important compositional device found on horns from both traditions. In the former it has been speculated that the open spiral compositional lines allude to the path the dead follow from earth to the ancestral realm and back again as newborns. In the latter it has been suggested that the parade of figures symbolizes the long winding procession followed by both the living and the dead as they climb from the ocean to the mountains leading to the Kongo capital and the home of the ancestors.

Description

Ivory tusk with nine level spiral of relief carving including European station with flag, African bearers in chains, Africans in western dress, blacksmith with bellows, snake, bird, monkey, snail shells. Bad repair in center, finial missing.

Published References

Mellor, S. 2007. From Delicious to Not Quite Right: Subtleties in Discerning the Authenticity of African Art. Objects Specialty Group Postprints, Volume 14 CD. Washington, DC: American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, p.27, no.32.

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Credit Line

Gift of Harry and Freda Schaeffer

Late 19th century

Object number

68-23-53

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Sculpture

Medium

Ivory

Dimensions

H x W x D: 73.3 x 6.4 x 6.4 cm (28 7/8 x 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.)

Geography

Loango coast, Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Angola

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

bird

foreigner

snake

weapon

boat

tool

monkey

male

Record ID

nmafa_68-23-53

Metadata Usage (text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7cfa9dc61-7efc-4f5c-bae6-6432c27ea4a5