99 FIG. 18 (left): Figure of Christ. Kongo peoples; Kongo Kingdom, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, or Angola. 18th–19th century. Brass (open-back cast). H: 11.1 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Ernst Anspach, 1999 (1999.295.3). FIG. 17 (right): António Godinho (Portuguese, active c. 16th century), Livro da Nobreza e da Perfeição das Armas dos Reis Cristãos e Nobres Linhagens dos Reinos e Senhorios de Portugal (Book of Nobility and of the Perfection of the Coat of Arms of the Christian Kings and Noble Lineages of the Kingdoms and Landlords of Portugal). C. 1521–41. Pigment and gold on parchment. H: 43 cm. Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon (PT/TT/CR/D-A/001/20, folio 7r). FIGS. 16a & b (left): Scepter depicting a seated chief above bound prisoner, nkisi. Kongo peoples; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Republic of the Congo; or Cabinda, Angola. 19th–early 20th century. Ivory, resin. H: 28.5 cm. Collection of Laura G. Ross, New York. Two different compositional formats were favored. The fi rst is an overall fi eld of interlaced bands that suggests an endless network extending in every direction (fi gs. 9, 10). The second is that of rows and columns of rectangular units within which an individual knotmotif is framed (fi g. 11). While some independent panels appear to be fi nished works, a few larger textiles are composed of nine or more units that have been stitched together. Cushion covers in the form of square or rectangular woven raffi a panels with decorative pom-pom and tassel embellishments added along the perimeter and at the four corners likely refl ect the infl uence of European decorative arts (fi gs. 9–11). Kongo Insignia of Power In Kongo society the most important measure of wealth was the number of one’s dependents that included wives, children, clients, or slaves, known as mbongo bantu, literally “treasure in people.”17 All manifestations of power ultimately derived from the spiritual otherworld. The high value placed on human capital was epitomized in a Kongo sovereign’s patronage of regalia that referenced his spiritually sanctioned command of subordinate dependents (fi g. 16). The distinct character of specifi c Kongo polities is unusually well defi ned for the Kingdom of Kongo. Beginning with Afonso I, a coat of arms was adopted that would serve as its offi cial symbol on regalia and correspondence from as early as 1580 to as late as 1859 (fi g. 17). Drafted by an unknown Portuguese artist, its imagery features references to Afonso’s miraculous triumph over rivals due to divine intervention, the Kongo state’s Christian character, and its friendship with Portugal. The baptism of Manikongo Nzinga a Nkuwu as João I on May 3, 1491, led to the arrival of thousands of Christian devotional artifacts from Portugal into the Kingdom of Kongo. Although none have survived, they are referenced extensively in the offi cial correspondence of the period. Kongo artists drew directly from European devotional medallions and crucifi xes as molds for their own castings of brass crucifi xes for their royal patrons. Eventually they departed from replication to interpret Christ’s features as that of a Kongolese and such imagery defi ned the distinctive character of the Kingdom of Kongo’s leadership, setting them apart from both their European and regional peers (fi g. 18). In 1704, amid unprecedented political turmoil, a young Kongo woman, Beatriz Kimpa Vita, led a call for religious renewal. Saint Anthony of Padua was the symbol of her grassroots movement, which claimed Christianity for a far broader constituency Kongo
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