Carved Elephant Tusk
Artist
Kongo peoples
(Congolese)
DateLate 19th-early 20th century
MediumTusk | Ivory
DimensionsOverall: 44 in. (111.8 cm)
ClassificationsAfrican art
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.2409
Terms
- Ivory
- Africa
- Zaire
Collections
On View
On viewLabel TextKongo Peoples Democratic Republic of the Congo Carved Elephant Tusk, late-19th to early-20th century Ivory, 44 in. Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2409 Elaborately carved ivory tusks such as this were commissioned by Europeans from African artists beginning in the mid-1800s. The spiral pattern, formed by the body of a snake, identifies this work as being of the Kongo tradition of carving. Read from the bottom of the tusk to the top, Africans and Europeans are clearly distinguished by their dress and physical features, as well as by the items they carry. However, the combined meaning of these varied scenes remains unclear. The Congo River region of Central Africa was ruled by Belgium from 1885 to 1960, and the region had been in constant contact with Europeans since Portuguese explorers arrived in the 1400s. Consequently, Kongo artists frequently produced saleable sculptures, often with Christian themes, for Belgian colonists and missionaries, all the while continuing to create pieces sacred to their traditional beliefs.
