Afro-Portuguese Ivories: salt-cellar
- Gallery: Room 25
- Culture: Nigeria
- Made in: Nigeria (?)
- Date: 1525-1600 (circa)
- Object type: salt-cellar
- Materials: elephant ivory
- Museum number: Af1878,1101.48.a-c
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
This is an Afro-Portuguese ivory salt-cellar, created around 1525 to 1600 in Nigeria by the Edo people. The piece is carved in three sections and shows a blend of African artistic traditions with European motifs. You'll notice detailed carvings of Portuguese figures in the base and middle, wearing rich outfits with metal-plate-lined jackets and feathered hats. One figure holds a sword in its left hand and a spear in its right, while others hold shields and swords. A European ship sits atop the lid, with a small figure in its crow’s nest. This intricate work was likely made as a luxury item for European visitors—an early example of African "tourist art." The Portuguese had started trading along the West African coast by this time, and carved ivory became highly desirable.
See it in person
Afro-Portuguese Ivories: salt-cellar is on display in Room 25 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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