Spirals of History

Hand-carved elephant tusks tell the story of life in the Congolese colonies of the late 1800s

  • By Owen Edwards
  • Smithsonian magazine, April 2008, Subscribe
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Hand-carved elephant tusk When curator Christine Kreamer examined the ivories' vivid details, she knew instantly that "we had something unique."

Franko Khoury/ National Museum of African Art, SI

 

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    When curator Christine Kreamer examined the ivories

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    In 1882, Robert Visser, a German merchant who had been offered an opportunity to manage cacao and coffee plantations, traveled to central Africa's Loango Coast (in present-day Congo Republic). From then until his departure 22 years later, Visser avidly collected African art. His notable acquisitions included three outstanding examples of the region's intricately carved elephant tusks—artifacts newly added to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art. (Two of the ivories go on view this month in the exhibition "Treasures 2008," a sampling of works from the museum, supplemented by objects on loan.)

    During his sojourn abroad, Visser, who was largely self-educated, took up photography and pursued it with dedication at a time when using an unwieldy camera under difficult conditions (in places where, for instance, one might become a lion's lunch) required as much toil as technique. While in Africa, Visser made some 500 photographs.

    Visser's dual preoccupations—art collecting and photography—converge in the iconography of the tusks, which range in height from two to three feet and were acquired late last year from a Swiss collector. One of the pieces features a man standing by a big box camera (see Table of Contents, p. 4). Immediately, says curator Christine Mullen Kreamer, "we knew we had something unique."

    The figure, almost certainly Visser himself, presides over a large-view camera mounted on a tripod. Each of the Visser ivories, moreover, features scenes that echo pictures made by Visser—a couple seated in a thatched-roof hut; African hunters displaying elephant tusks. One of the tusks contains a telling inscription at its base: "Mit Muth nur Kraft R Visser"—Only With Courage Is There Strength, R Visser.

    The master artisans who created these pieces, says Kreamer, included various coastal peoples of the region, well-versed in a "long tradition of carving, mainly in wood." Among them were the Vili, who traditionally hunted elephants (the meat was a dietary staple). After the Portuguese arrived in the region toward the end of the 1400s, ivory tusks began to be exported, eventually for use in products such as piano keys and billiard balls. For travelers, missionaries and foreign workers in the rubber and cacao trades, elephant tusks became souvenirs of choice.

    "Ivories had been a symbol of prestige among the Vili, who were the primo elephant hunters in that part of the continent," says Kreamer. "But tribal tusks weren't necessarily elaborately carved." Beginning in the 1830s, finely worked tusks, often commissioned by foreigners, began to appear. These, Kreamer adds, tended "to depict genre scenes in a highly naturalistic way—local trades, workers, scenes of struggle, animals, ritual activities. Often there would be a commissioned inscription as well, such as ‘Memories of Savage Africa.'"

    Ultimately, of course, the appetite for ivory spelled doom for Africa's elephant herds. In an attempt to curb the slaughter, an international ban on the sale of new ivory was imposed in 1989. (The ban does not apply to antique ivory objects.) At first, the restrictions proved largely successful. Today, however, a worldwide market for new ivory trinkets, readily available on the Internet, has surged. Estimates from the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington suggest that in 2006 alone, poachers smuggled 240 tons of ivory out of Africa, an amount corresponding to the destruction of 24,000 elephants.

    Visser's 19th-century tusks document a vanished world and reveal, says Kreamer, a wealth of information about the flora, fauna and clothing of the time. The pieces also offer a sense of the complex interactions among Africans and Europeans—including the more brutal aspects, such as chaining workers together in forced labor. Each tusk bears a distinctive carved band, twining from base to tip and connecting scenes and characters. This defining motif caused Kreamer and her colleagues to create the term now used to describe Loango ivories in general (and this trio in particular): "spirals of history."

    Owen Edwards is a freelance writer and author of the book Elegant Solutions.


    In 1882, Robert Visser, a German merchant who had been offered an opportunity to manage cacao and coffee plantations, traveled to central Africa's Loango Coast (in present-day Congo Republic). From then until his departure 22 years later, Visser avidly collected African art. His notable acquisitions included three outstanding examples of the region's intricately carved elephant tusks—artifacts newly added to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art. (Two of the ivories go on view this month in the exhibition "Treasures 2008," a sampling of works from the museum, supplemented by objects on loan.)

    During his sojourn abroad, Visser, who was largely self-educated, took up photography and pursued it with dedication at a time when using an unwieldy camera under difficult conditions (in places where, for instance, one might become a lion's lunch) required as much toil as technique. While in Africa, Visser made some 500 photographs.

    Visser's dual preoccupations—art collecting and photography—converge in the iconography of the tusks, which range in height from two to three feet and were acquired late last year from a Swiss collector. One of the pieces features a man standing by a big box camera (see Table of Contents, p. 4). Immediately, says curator Christine Mullen Kreamer, "we knew we had something unique."

    The figure, almost certainly Visser himself, presides over a large-view camera mounted on a tripod. Each of the Visser ivories, moreover, features scenes that echo pictures made by Visser—a couple seated in a thatched-roof hut; African hunters displaying elephant tusks. One of the tusks contains a telling inscription at its base: "Mit Muth nur Kraft R Visser"—Only With Courage Is There Strength, R Visser.

    The master artisans who created these pieces, says Kreamer, included various coastal peoples of the region, well-versed in a "long tradition of carving, mainly in wood." Among them were the Vili, who traditionally hunted elephants (the meat was a dietary staple). After the Portuguese arrived in the region toward the end of the 1400s, ivory tusks began to be exported, eventually for use in products such as piano keys and billiard balls. For travelers, missionaries and foreign workers in the rubber and cacao trades, elephant tusks became souvenirs of choice.

    "Ivories had been a symbol of prestige among the Vili, who were the primo elephant hunters in that part of the continent," says Kreamer. "But tribal tusks weren't necessarily elaborately carved." Beginning in the 1830s, finely worked tusks, often commissioned by foreigners, began to appear. These, Kreamer adds, tended "to depict genre scenes in a highly naturalistic way—local trades, workers, scenes of struggle, animals, ritual activities. Often there would be a commissioned inscription as well, such as ‘Memories of Savage Africa.'"

    Ultimately, of course, the appetite for ivory spelled doom for Africa's elephant herds. In an attempt to curb the slaughter, an international ban on the sale of new ivory was imposed in 1989. (The ban does not apply to antique ivory objects.) At first, the restrictions proved largely successful. Today, however, a worldwide market for new ivory trinkets, readily available on the Internet, has surged. Estimates from the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington suggest that in 2006 alone, poachers smuggled 240 tons of ivory out of Africa, an amount corresponding to the destruction of 24,000 elephants.

    Visser's 19th-century tusks document a vanished world and reveal, says Kreamer, a wealth of information about the flora, fauna and clothing of the time. The pieces also offer a sense of the complex interactions among Africans and Europeans—including the more brutal aspects, such as chaining workers together in forced labor. Each tusk bears a distinctive carved band, twining from base to tip and connecting scenes and characters. This defining motif caused Kreamer and her colleagues to create the term now used to describe Loango ivories in general (and this trio in particular): "spirals of history."

    Owen Edwards is a freelance writer and author of the book Elegant Solutions.

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    Comments (7)

    Im trying to authentacate a carving a.t.moger ship carved on a walrus tooth abouth 7 inches long, can you help

    Posted by Darlene Duivesteyn on October 10,2010 | 11:59 AM

    I have a piece of ivory,and can't find any information on it.It's a small part of a tusk,hand-carved,with an elephant on one side and a giraffe on the other.The top of it is sealed with a smaller piece of hand carved ivory.It appears to be very old.How can I get information on this?

    Posted by April Parker on July 6,2009 | 08:48 PM

    Hello, This is for Lyn about her Ivory Tusk with the Animals climbing all up the tree. It is a genuine ivory tusk and was carved in the Congo in the mid to late 1800's. Very Valuable, hang on to it. I know because I have one also and almost gave it away until a friend directed me to a NIU professr of history who knew about it. Take it to a college history professor near you and maybe they can give you more information about a specific tribe and time. Hope this helps. Good Luck!

    Posted by jeanne on March 1,2009 | 01:29 AM

    i have a carving of jungle animals on what seems to be a tusk of some sort.the bottum of it has incased in it some red berries,a gold coin, and some type of pendant. is there some type of religion to this carving/statue?

    Posted by patricia perius on December 4,2008 | 04:35 AM

    I have a tusk carving and have serched the internet to find out about it but i am not finding one like mine.It has all monkeys,squirrels,and other animals climbing up a tree it circles around the tusk to the tip where a sun is, can you advise me where to search or tell me what it is. Thank you

    Posted by lyn on November 24,2008 | 03:40 PM

    Im trying to authentacate a carving a.t.moger ship carved on a walrus tooth abouth 7 inches long, cane you help thanks jim Barrett

    Posted by jim barrett on September 1,2008 | 12:50 PM

    youre pictures are very inturesting because it is very good cause you are showing how it youse to be in that time and probably still

    Posted by thinkel bell on April 24,2008 | 10:11 AM

    Where can we get these pics by Robert Visser? I can't find them on the net. Thank you

    Posted by Fred Serez on April 19,2008 | 07:48 PM

    The destructiveness of greedy men is beyond words at times to describe, and for monetary gain there is actually no limits his type will not take to gain wealth. Todays Africa is what mostly the Europeans made of it to become the disaster it is today. A very modern world surrounds Africa, and yes, there are those who try now a remedy, but it shan't to materialize.

    Posted by Richard S'Chevalier on March 27,2008 | 05:26 AM

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