带盖盐电池 - 美国大都会艺术博物馆展品查阅

品名（中）	带盖盐电池
品名（英）	Lidded Saltcellar
入馆年号	1991年，1991.435a, b
策展部门	迈克尔·洛克菲勒之翼（The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing）
创作者
创作年份	公元 1400 - 公元 1600
创作地区	塞拉利昂（Sierra Leone）
分类	象牙（Ivory）
尺寸	高 11 3/4 x 直径 4 1/4 英寸 (29.8 x 10.8 厘米)
介绍（中）	这个盐窖既是熟练工艺的非凡典范，也是文化融合的缩影。在十五世纪下半叶，葡萄牙探险家和商人对西非沿海象牙雕刻师的大量才华印象深刻。因此，他们受到启发，为他们的赞助人委托此类作品，巧妙地结合了欧洲和非洲的美学和形式。在此期间，盐和胡椒是昂贵的商品，精心制作的容器适合存放在王室住宅中。这部作品包含与土著萨比信仰体系相关的图像。与神秘财富相关的四条蛇似乎面对四只咆哮的狗。根据地区传统，狗被认为是精神上精明的动物，能够看到人类看不见的灵魂和鬼魂。这种对狗的描绘，牙齿裸发，耳朵向后，可能与这种能力有关。然而，这个场景中的动画水平也可能来自欧洲木刻中的骑士狩猎场景，这些场景是由他们的欧洲赞助人提供给当地非洲艺术家的。
介绍（英）	This saltcellar is both an extraordinary example of skilled workmanship and an artifact that epitomizes a singularly important convergence of cultures. In the second half of the fifteenth century, Portuguese explorers and traders were impressed by the considerable talent of ivory carvers along the coast of West Africa. As a result, they were inspired to commission works of this kind for their patrons, which ingeniously combine both European and African aesthetics and forms. During this period, salt and pepper were costly commodities and elaborate receptacles were appropriate for their storage in princely homes. This work contains imagery relating to indigenous Sapi belief systems. The four snakes, associated with mystical wealth, appear to confront four growling dogs. According to regional traditions, dogs are considered spiritually astute animals able to see spirits and ghosts that are invisible to humans. This depiction of the dogs, with teeth bared, hair bristling, and ears laid back, may relate to that ability. However, the level of animation in this scene could also derive from chivalric hunting scenes in European woodcuts, which were furnished to local African artists by their European patrons.