1 / Converging Cultures

• • Traveling CofferOu family of Wenzhou, Zhehian Province, China	The Sultan Mehmet IIAttr. to Gentile Bellini (Italian, ca. 1429–1507)	Saltcellar with Portuguese FiguresEdo artist, Court of Benin, Nigeria	Namban (“Southern Barbarians” in Japan)Kano School, Japan	Dish with Grape DesignUnknown artist, Iznik, Turkey	The FittingMary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926)
    Human Races (Las Castas)Unknown artist, Mexico	Pelea de Gallos (Fight of the Roosters)Miguel Luciano (Puerto Rican, b. 1972)	Chi Kan Jo (Wisdom, Impression, Sentiment)Kuroda Seiki (Japanese, 1866–1924)	Miss ko2 (Project ko2)Takashi Murakami (Japanese, b. 1962)	Pilgrim FlaskUnknown artist, Venice, Italy	Porcelain PlateUnknown artist, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China
    Portrait of East India Company Official (probably William Fullerton)Dip Chand (Indian, active 18th c.)	Double-Sided DiptychGondar Workshops, Ethiopia	Our Lady of Cocharcas Under the BaldachinUnknown artist, Peru	Chûbon no zu (Picture of the Middle Class)Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753–1806)

expert perspective

Jay Levenson Director of the International Program, Museum of Modern Art, New York

“

There were two types of objects that came from the Portuguese trading empire. Some were real objects of trade, like the African saltcellars that were created in one country—in Africa—specifically, to be brought to another country—Portugal. But there were other objects that were made, not for trade, but for local use.

Ivory objects would have been used by Europeans. It’s not clear at all that Africans used saltcellars. So these were objects that appear always to be intended for export. They are very much a type of hybrid art. Saltcellars are European forms. The decorations seem to be a combination of African images and also European images. It appears that the traders brought European books with woodcut illustrations to Africa and that some of the works reflect some of the African artists’ knowledge of these European prototypes. For example, there are saltcellars from Benin that are decorated with figures of Portuguese soldiers with swords and other weapons.”