Powder horn

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Description

ivory, honey brown patina, curved form, partly open worked, engraved and raised decor, punched silver cuff, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion;
either used for gun powder or tobacco. Traces of the original stopper still recognizable as dark rim on the inside. Made in the tradition of Sapi-Portuguese artfacts.
“Sapi” is the name given to the peoples that lived along coastal Sierra Leone by Portuguese traders during the 15th and 16th centuries. Beautiful ivory carvings, known in the literature as “Afro-Portuguese” ivories, were commissioned by Portuguese sailors who visited this area. The ivories incorporate both African and Portuguese forms.

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Comparing literature

E. Bassani, W. Fagg, Africa and the Renaissance: Art in Ivory, New York City 1988, ill. 285

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