Paper short abstract:

From the outset, ivory and christian faith were central elements in the dialogue between european and central african worlds. In this presentation, a set of questions are tested that could guide a research around the place of the ivory in the context of cultural communication between Kongo and Europe.

Paper long abstract:

In 1489 an embassy of Mwene Kongo arrives in Portugal. The African sovereign dignitaries made delivery of the gifts brought to the King of Portugal: beyond the raffia cloths, according to the chronicler Rui de Pina, there was also some elephant tusks and "other ivory things" whose brightness strongly impressed the chronicler. On the occasion, the ambassador would have expressed interest of his sovereign in the Christian faith, and in the further development of the relationship between Portugal and the Kongo.

From the outset, ivory and the christian faith were central elements in the complex dialogue between european and central african cultural worlds, as insignia of power, markers of social prestige, intermediaries convening spiritual forces or simply commodities traded. However, at least for the region in question, the map of connections and mutual influences between African artistic production in ivory and the cultural dialogue between Christianity and African cosmologies is fundamentally to be drawn. In this communication, a set of doubts and questions are tested that could guide a research around the place of the ivory in the context of cultural communication between Kongo and Europe.