African Ivory Research Network Seminar #4 | Santo Antônio Ivory Statuettes Attributed to Kongo: Problems with Age and Provenance | Vanicléia Silva-Santos | April 19, 2023 | Online | 6 PM (GMT)

African Ivory Research Network Seminar #4
 
Santo Antônio Ivory Statuettes Attributed to Kongo: Problems with Age and Provenance
Vanicléia Silva-Santos
University of Pennsylvania   

Online | April 19, 2023 | 6 PM (GMT)

ZOOM Meeting: 
https://videoconf-colibri.zoom.us/j/97682143722

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Abstract​
This presentation explores the material and formal changes in producing Saint Anthony ivory statuettes attributed to the Congo (supposedly produced between the 17th and 19th centuries). Through the analysis of written documentation and statuettes made of ivory and other materials, we assess issues such as the provenance and dating of the pieces. These points lead us to question the arbitrary opinions about Saint Anthony ivory statuettes, their age, origin, and meanings provided by museums, collectors, and the art market.​

Vanicléia Silva-Santos
Vanicléia Silva-Santos is a professor of African History and curator at the Pen Museum of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, United States. Her research interests include African History and its Diasporas and Material Culture. Her projects resulted in some edited volumes about these topics. The latest one is African Ivory as Insignia of Power. Contexts of production and uses, inside and outside Africa at Editora Fino Traço (forthcoming 2023).

About the AIRN Seminar
The African Ivory Research Network (AIRN) runs a seminar at the Centre for History of the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon. This seminar addresses African ivory from any historical period and from a variety of historical perspectives, including economic history, cultural history, art history, environmental history and archaeology. In addition, it also intends to promote sessions related to heritage preservation, wildlife protection, ecology, law and illegal trade, among other issues relevant to this topic.

Contributors to this seminar include academics from around the world who have researched or are researching any topic related to African ivory and are willing to share their research with a wider community of researchers and experts, including sharing ongoing research. The main goal of this seminar is to promote an open discussion on any issue related with African ivory, profiting from the different theoretical frameworks and research interests followed by each speaker. 
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The seminar consists of monthly conferences to be held from January to May including a 50-60 minutes talk followed by a 20-30 minutes discussion. Sessions take place on Wednesdays starting at 6 PM (GMT) in online format, via zoom, although some may be in hybrid format (see below). Hybrid sessions take place at the School of Arts and Humanities, Room B112.G (limited availability).

AIRN is an offspring of a joint research project developed by the universities of Lisbon and Minas Gerais on the history of African ivories in the Atlantic world, which was carried out between 2016 and 2019 under the supervision of Peter Mark (https://africanivoriesul.wordpress.com/).
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AIRN Seminar Programme 2023

Paul Lane (University of Cambridge) | January 4            
19th century East Africa ivory trade (hydrid)

Sarah Guérin (University of Pennsylvania) | February 15             
Ivory trade before and after Henry the Navigator: Shifting worlds

René Lommez Gomes (UFMG) | April 5           
Ivories on a piece of paper. Notices on Sapi cups and saltcellars in Renaissance Spain

Vanicléia Silva-Santos (University of Pennsylvania) | April 19
Santo Antônio Ivory Statuettes Attributed to Kongo: Problems with Age and Provenance

Edward A. Alpers (UCLA) | May 17            
Thinking aloud: Elephants and ivory in Mozambique