Lidded saltcellar

In 1510 a Portuguese author noted that the Sapi residents of present-day Sierra Leone “made ivory objects that are wonderful to see.” As display containers for salt were not used in Africa, this ornate saltcellar was produced for European patrons. A tour de force of workmanship that combines controlled precision and dynamic fluidity, its complex imagery is a synthesis of local and European motifs. The spherical container’s exterior features rosettes. Below, spiraling serpentine spirits confront barking dogs that alternate with male and female figures. Once exported from the coast of Sierra Leone, such ivory sculptures entered the collections of European elites as rare and exotic commodities, displayed in curiosity cabinets, or wunderkammern.