Page 153 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

voyage, the Roteiro da Primeira Viagem de Vasco Gama in Calicut and the return of the armada to 32
da Gama (Route of the First Voyage of Vasco da the port of Lisbon completed the cycle of the
Gama), he declared to the king of Calicut that "he voyage. The Conquest portion of the cycle was to Attributed to Vasco Fernandas
was ambassador of the King of Portugal, who was include the foundation of fortresses at Mozam- Portuguese, c. 1475-1541/1542
Lord of a vast territory, rich in all things, more bique in 1507, at Cochin, erected by Francisco de ADORATION OF THE MAGI
than any other king of those parts' 7 (although one Albuquerque on 27 September 1503 (this series of
of the sailors confessed plainly to two Muslims: tapestries also depicted a baptism of native Indians c. 1501—1502
"We came to look for Christians and spices"). in a Christian church), and at Cananor, con- oil on oak panel
7
2
According to this account the experienced Arab structed in the time of Dom Francisco de Almeida 131 x 81 (5i /2 x }i /s)
pilot who had guided da Gama's fleet on the (1505). The cycle of Contacts and Diplomacy references: Moreira 1921; Cortesao 1944; Santos
voyage from Melinde to Calicut compared Por- included the capture of Quiloa, showing the city 1946, 1962; Cortez 1968; Foutora da Costa 1968;
Santos 1970; Sampaio 1971; Honour 1976;
tugal to the former Roman Empire and stressed with Portuguese flags flying on the walls, the Hemming 1978; Markl and Pereira 1986; New York
the fierceness of the Portuguese. Da Gama him- ships in the foreground, and Dom Francisco de Public Library 1990
self, despite the dangers and the reservations of Almeida crowning the new king who accepts the
his crew, boldly decided to lead the party to meet swearing-in and the homage. The same ritual is Museu de Grdo Vasco, Viseu
the King of Melinde who resided five leagues portrayed in the "Act of Homage Rendered by the
inland. "Even though I may know how to die," he King of Cochin," in which a gold cup, a present This Adoration of the Magi is unique in European
said, "I still wish to meet the King of Calicut to from Dom Manuel i, is being handed over. painting for its depiction of a native American, a
see if I can establish friendship and dealings with The "order book" emphasizes details when new . Tupinamba from Brazil, as one of the Three Kings
him, and to have spices and other things from his territories, their peoples, and customs were to be paying homage to the Virgin and Child. There
city, that they may serve as testimonies in Por- represented. It pays specific attention to the was an older tradition for portraying one of the
tugal to verify that the discovery of Calicut is adornments of indigenous women: "how they Magi, Melchior, as an African, but no other pic-
true" (Castanheda, i, ch. 16). wear jewels on their toes and the way they wear ture is known that introduces an American figure
It is in this context of authentication that the them," which coincides with the text of the into such an image. The artist apparently sought
commissioning of the tapestries "in the style of Roteiro da Primeira Viagem de Vasco da Gama. to suggest the growing knowledge of new worlds
Portugal and India" should be understood. The Another passage specifies the representation of and new peoples brought about by the Portuguese
Portuguese wanted to make known to all the the crafts and trades, depicting merchants selling voyages. Another contemporary element is the
exotic nature of the world they had encountered jewels and spices. The third tapestry of the Cochin gold coin, brought by the Magi, which the Child
in order to draw attention to the leading role they series is to portray the local prince, "the make-up Jesus holds, presumably a Portuguese coin from
had played. Da Gama's voyage and its aftermath of the people, color and dress and arms, true to the reign of Dom Manuel i (1456-1521). This is
had yielded a wealth of information about new nature with their litters, elephants, and hats evidently an allusion to the fact that the desire to
peoples and lands, furnishing eloquent testimony (parasols)." spread the gospel had been a driving force behind
of a larger world. Detailed maps of the routes We also know that even earlier, in 1504, Philip the discoveries since the time of Henry the Navi-
were made, showing the location of coasts and the Handsome, who was married to Princess gator, as had the search for secular ricfies — Em
ports, and inaccuracies in old maps were cor- Isabel of Portugal, the sister of Dom Duarte, had nome de Deus e do lucro (In the name of God and
rected. The cartographers who executed the new acquired a tapestry "a la maniere de Portugal et de gold), as it was sometimes put.
portolan charts attempted to systematize and Inde" from the Tournai tapestry maker Jean Gre- The Tupinamba Indian is placed at the center of
update this knowledge and incorporate elements of nier. Emperor Maximillian i (1493-1515), the son the composition, dressed in a costume that is a
local flora, fauna, and anthropological data. of the Infanta Leonor of Portugal (daughter of composite of Brazilian elements —the feathers and
There is no documentary evidence for dating Dom Duarte), had in 1510 bought a tapestry for the accurately depicted arrow — and European
the tapestry exhibited here. However, we do know his residence described as une Histoire de gens et shirt and breeches (see essay by Jean Michel
that in 1516 Dom Manuel i (r. 1495-1521), an bestes sauvages a la maniere de Calicut (a story of Massing, "Early European Images of America,"
important patron of the arts, had his royal secre- wild people and beasts in the manner of Calicut). in this catalogue). As his offering he holds a
tary Antonio Carneiro send to craftsmen in Ant- Documents record numerous payments to Tournai cup of coconut shell, mounted in silver, a detail
werp details of da Gama's voyage and other events craftsmen for tapestries on this theme, as well. A that reinforces the exotic character of the
related to the Portuguese in India. The document great range of scenes appears to have been avail- representation.
that was sent to Antwerp was called Pera os able. The tapestry exhibited here comes from the This picture forms part of a polyptych painted
pannos que El Rey nosso senhor quer hordenar Dreux-Breze collection, which had the most for the high altar of Viseu cathedral, of which
(For the tapestries the King our lord wishes to extensive set of Calicut tapestries to survive into sixteen panels remain of an original eighteen. The
commission). This "order book" specified that the modern times. This particular piece, which origi- Adoration is attributed to Vasco Fernandes (c.
tapestries should faithfully portray images and nally was almost twice as wide as it is now, is one 1475-1541/1542), who probably also painted the
events taken from nature (Graqa Barreto 1880) of three that constitute the Cortejo Festivo (Fes- panel of The Agony in the Garden from the same
and summarize twenty-five principal themes. tive Procession). It depicts the exotic fauna of the series. The altarpiece is the work of a group of
Emphasis was placed on da Gama's leavetaking, Indies, as well as giraffes, which had been trans- painters who worked in the Flemish style, which
with his audience before the king and the delivery ported by the Portuguese from Africa to India. also included Francisco Henriques, who painted
of the regiment for Vasco da Gama's voyage, and J.T. the high altar of Evora cathedral (now in the
the procession, including the monks of the con- Museum of Evora). The collaboration explains the
vent of the Order of Christ in Tomar, who uneven artistic quality of the polyptych.
departed from the chapel of Our Lady of Belem to Whoever commissioned this image must have
go to the Praia do Restelo that Joao de Barros had some special connection with Brazil and it is
called "shore of tears for those who depart, land of in fact believed that the kneeling Magus in the
pleasure for those who arrive." The arrival of da Not illustrated. foreground is a portrait from life of Pedro Alvares

152 CIRCA 1492