A Rare and Superbly Carved Loango Ivory Tusk from the Kongo or Villi Peoples , Loango Coast , Angola
Outstandingly carved with the unusual imagery of animals , anthropomorphic figures and caricatures of colonials this impressive tusk is worked in a markedly different style from those depicting the more usual trading activities that took place along the Loango coast in the 19 th century . It is possible that these images were copied from a contemporary European print or book as many earlier Portuguese colonial ivory carvings were , and the tusk may have been especially commissioned by a colonialist returning home .
See : Finch & Co catalogue no. 1 ( item no. 6 ) catalogue no. 2 ( item no. 73 ) catalogue no. 5 ( item no. 64 ) for related examples .
cf Sothebys , Arts of Africa , New York , May 2001 ; lot 228 for a very similar example probably by the same hand .
cf Sothebys , Arts of Africa , New York , May 2001 ; lot 228 for a very similar example probably by the same hand .
A Rare and Superbly Carved Loango Ivory Tusk from the Kongo or Villi Peoples , Loango Coast , Angola
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