Missions to Africa

Image 1

Name: Crucifix (Nkangi Kiditu)
Author: Kongo culture  (Angola / Congo / Zaire)
Date: early 17th century
Medium: copper alloy
Size: 34.3 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm
Location: Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Jean C. and Raymond E. Britt Jr. Collection, by exchange 
Photo by: n/a
Copyright: CC BY 3.0 (Attribution 3.0 Unported).
Permalink: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/207818
Description:  Copper-alloy cast crucifix, with two kneeling figures resting on bar above hands, with a third projecting below the central figure's feet. Cross is bound by a raised continuous band of "X"-hatched striations. Small casting flaws in lower portion, below third kneeling figure. Likely local repair, in the form of additional welded copper-alloy, has been affixed to verso behind lower kneeling figure. Former typed label on verso reads: "Crucifix fabriqué au 16e siècle par les noirs royaume de San Salvador (Bas-Congo et Congo Portugais) lors de leur évangélisation surtout par les Capucins portugais.” Condition: fair. (Brooklyn Museum)

Image 2

Name: Map of the Coast of Congo, Gabon and Angola
Author: unknown
Date: 1683-1799
Medium: print
Location: Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands
Copyright: Public domain
Permalink: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.336971
Description: Map of the coast of Congo, Gabon and Angola, with two compass roses; the North is on the left. Published by Johannes van Keulen between 1683-1799. 

Image 3

Name: Pendant with Saint Anthony of Padua
Author: unknown
Date: 16th-19th century
Medium: partially hollow cast brass
Location: Met Museum, New York
Copyright: Public domain
Permalink: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/318317
Description: This brass pendant of St. Anthony of Padua holding the infant Christ is an exceptional example of the casting prowess of Kongo artists. The diminutive size of this brass object and the loop posited at the tip of its inverted triangular hood indicate that it is a pendant. Originally cast with crisp detail, portions of the figure are now shiny and worn, suggesting that the pendant came into contact with the skin through active wear, or that it was repeatedly handled. 

Catholic since the late fifteenth century, the Kongo Kingdom fostered devotion to many saints. St. Anthony was among the most popular, and was called Toni Malau ("Anthony of Good Fortune") for his purported powers of healing and good luck. The figure’s attributes confirm his identity: the cross held in his proper right hand, the Christ child balanced on the low curve of his left elbow, and his simple habit. The additional iconography of the goldfinch and book are indicative of early models of the saint; these attributes generally grew smaller, or completely disappeared in later models. The popularity of Saint Anthony in Kongo was part of an early modern phenomenon in which the saint was equally popular in Europe, South America, and Africa. Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1195, the Franciscan brother Anthony was canonized just one year after his 1231 death in Padua, Italy. Claimed as a patron saint by both Portugal and Italy, religious missionaries from both regions spread his cult globally. Soon after their 1645 arrival in Kongo, Italian Capuchin fathers began to spread the cult of St. Anthony. While most early images of the saint were brought from Europe, some came to Africa via other sources. Most missionaries traveled indirectly to Africa via Brazil, where they sometimes purchased religious sculptures from Portuguese colonial workshops. In the Kongo kingdom, locally made figures of Saint Anthony based on European prototypes became common around the eighteenth century. The practice most likely related to the saint’s popularity in the kingdom, and was possibly tied to the short-lived Antonian movement, during which the Kongo noble woman Beatriz Kimpa Vita gained a significant political following after declaring herself the reincarnation of St. Anthony. To the chagrin of European missionaries, the Antoniens adopted the metal, ivory, and wooden images of St. Anthony, wearing the sculpture of the saint they called Toni Malau as a sign of their allegiance and as a protective amulet. Known as "Little Anthonies," her followers occupied the capital and traveled throughout the Kongo kingdom wearing their medallions, spreading the message of Dona Beatriz, who believed that Africanizing the church would strengthen the Kongo state, which was in disarray after a series of civil conflicts and the rising effects of the Transatlantic slave trade.

While the Antonien movement was successfully put down in 1706, St. Anthony remained popular long after. Considered the "Saint of Good Fortune" or the "Saint of Prosperity," Toni Malau figures continued to be used prominently in Kongo as forms of protection from illness, the troubles of childbirth, or other problems. (Kristen Windmuller-Luna, 2016)