Sierra Leone; Sapi peoples
Salt cellar
ca. 1490-1530
Ivory
H. 20.7 cm (8 1/8")
Seattle Art Museum, Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, 68.31
Change is not restricted to African arts of the twentieth century. In fact, African art forms have always been in flux, accommodating new ideas and foreign influences. The greatest works of traditional African art are those that respect the stylistic canons while departing from conservative models. For example, sixteenth-century hybrid masterworks known as Afro-Portuguese ivories were made by artists along the west and central African coast upon commission by Portuguese sailor-merchants who recognized the mastery of African ivory sculptors and wished to return to Europe with exotic gifts for royalty. Often, the artists used traditional African carving techniques to make objects inspired by European forms and/or motifs. This salt cellar must have been created by a Sherbro artist for export, for it conforms precisely to the taste of sixteenth-century European nobility and was probably intended for a table of the European Renaissance.
