Knife Case and Lid

between 16th and 18th century

Kongo, African

On View

African, Level 1, North Wing

Knife Case and Lid: 1 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

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Provenance

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

When Portuguese sailors arrived on the African coast for trading purposes, some commissioned ivory pieces to present as gifts to the nobility in Europe. This knife case was probably produced for such a gift as it combines African style with European form. The top displays four European men carved in high relief. Two hold daggers across their chests; the others clasp their hands in prayer. The surface is ornamented with a delicate interlaced design that may relate to the woven patterns used in Kongo textiles and baskets.

Title Knife Case and Lid

Artwork Date between 16th and 18th century

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Kongo

Medium Ivory

Dimensions Overall: 10 × 4 1/4 × 4 3/8 inches (25.4 × 10.8 × 11.1 cm)

Classification Carving

Department African Art

Credit City of Detroit Purchase

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 25.183

Markings

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Provenance

(C. and E. Galleria Canessa);
1925-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Guidi Sale. Sales cat., San Giorgi's. Rome, April 21-27, 1902, cat. no. 10.

Fagg, W. and M. Plass. African Sculpture, An Anthology. London, 1964, p. 118 (ill.).

Spirits and Ancestors. Yound People's Series no. 1. DIA, 1970, p. 11 (ill.).

Kan, M. Detroit Collects African Art. Exh. cat., DIA. Detroit, April 21-May 29, 1977, cat. no. 137, (fig. 75).

African Masterworks In The Detroit Institute of Arts. Washington and London: The Detroit Institute of Arts and Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995, cat. no. 56.

Levenson, J. A., ed. Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Washington D.C., 2007, p. 176 (fig. A-32).

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