Voyages Treasure Online (Eng)

VOYAGES
The Vidigueira Treasure
21st September 27th November 2011
THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE PROJECT

Luisa Penalva and Belmira Maduro
The Vidigueira Treasure project began to be put into practice in January 2010, its starting point being the detection of Kanji (Chinese) characters drawn on the inside of the oratory-reliquary belonging to the MNAAs collection of gold and silverware. Until now, the piece had been assumed, without question, to be an Indo-Portuguese work. Taking into consideration the fact that it had the same provenance as two other objects a pax and a Missal lectern a project was immediately implemented, in association with the Conservation and Restoration Department of the Instituto dos Museus e da Conservao, which included not only the performance of the conservation and restoration intervention, but also the undertaking of laboratory research. It was hoped that the results of this joint initiative would provide a useful data base for future studies. The laboratory research that is currently being carried out by the Jos de Figueiredo Laboratory, the HERCULES Laboratory of the University of vora and the Instituto de Tecnologia Nuclear is designed, insofar as possible, to determine the composition of the different materials that are present in these three pieces. The various test results will be used to create standard elements that can serve as a reference for future analyses of silver objects with similar provenances. Together with this laboratory component, the bibliographical and documentary research that was undertaken revealed new and surprising clues that would lead the project into territory that proved to be increasingly important from the point of view of Portuguese historiography during the period of overseas expansion. The links between Portugal Goa Macau Japan Philippines South America rapidly became a line of further research, with the commercial and missionary aspects of the Portuguese presence in the Orient becoming a special focus of study for the research team of the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (MNAA), working in partnership with the Centro Cientfico e Cultural de Macau (CCCM) and the Centro de Histria Alm-Mar (CHAM) of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa. The range of themes included as possible lines of research is so enormous that it is becoming increasingly evident that the study of these pieces involves such diverse areas as social anthropology, architecture and musicology, among others. 2
2 THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE PROJECT Luisa Penalva and Belmira Maduro 3 ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE Luisa Penalva 13 THE COMMERCIAL MARITIME ROUTES AND THE PORTUGUESE PRESENCE IN ASIA (16-17TH CENTURIES) Alexandra Curvelo 18 JESUITS AND MENDICANTS IN EAST ASIA. SOME CONSIDERATIONS Pedro Lage Reis Correia 21 THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE. CONSERVATION INTERVENTION AND STUDY Antnio Candeias and Belmira Maduro 29 SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Supported and promoted by EPAL, Empresa Portuguesa das guas Livres, the purpose of both the exhibition and the publication of this catalogue is to present the first results of this vast project, which is also supported by the Regional Directorate of Culture in the Alentejo (Direco Regional da Cultura do Alentejo). The in-depth study of some of the key pieces in the MNAAs gold and silverware collection, which started with the Belm Monstrance project, promotes this collection and ensures its continuous study, maximizing the already invested resources and seeking to develop multidisciplinary teams, while also establishing a network of both national and international contributions that can strengthen the knowledge and dissemination of this heritage.
ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE

Luisa Penalva*
The Portuguese patronage in the Orient was initially materialised through the building of temples and monasteries. This necessarily led to the commissioning of furniture, religious images and liturgical implements to be used for worship, resulting in objects that since then have remained as clear testimonies of the symbiosis between western and oriental imagery, expressed in the form of hybrid artistic languages. The need to convey the Christian message to the new believers in a language that they could understand led to the progressive commissioning of locally-made artefacts, frequently based on European models, but allowing room for small and subtle local innovations to be introduced into both the form and aesthetics of these pieces. These new interpretations made by oriental artists in their attempts to repeat previously unknown forms and, above all, to reproduce symbols and messages that were frequently beyond their comprehension, resulted in one of the most extraordinary instances of cultural miscegenation in Portuguese history. This phenomenon is even more understandable if we consider that the arrival and progressive spread of Portuguese merchants across the Orient resulted not only in the establishment of basic trade routes, but also in the exploitation and development of pre-existing commercial circuits that made it possible to form stable cultural contacts, which previously had been hampered by the incompatibilities existing between the different cultures and peoples of the Indian Ocean. (cf. text by Alexandra Curvelo). The Portuguese played a crucial role in the development of this closer relationship. They were, however, able to achieve this without sacrificing any of their respective commercial benefits, thus allowing for the rapid growth in great fortunes, such as the one amassed by Andr Coutinho from Porto, who set sail for India in around 1545, hoping to develop a promising and profitable negcio da China (business in China). In the chronicle of the Carmelite Friar Jos de Santana, dated 1751, Coutinhos biography is summarised as follows: () a modest and virtuous cleric by the name of Andr Coutinho, the Noble Chaplain of the Kings Household, who before taking ecclesiastic vows had passed through the lands of the Orient, and was the first priest to 3
- ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE -
be ordained in China. The most illustrious Bishop Leonardo de S was the one who conferred upon him his holy orders. In the thirty-eight years that he lived in that region he acquired a great fortune. In his will, he declared that he had not inherited his wealth from anyone, nor obtained it through religious office or benefit, but that he had amassed his riches with his work and industry before his admission to the priesthood; which he proved through an authenticated certificate issued by that Bishop. And since he was born in the city of Porto, his love for his country called him to spend the rest of his life there, amid the warm hospitality normally afforded to those returning with large fortunes; however, during the voyage that they made together, Dom Miguel da Gama most efficiently persuaded him to go and live in Vidigueira. He therefore settled in that town, where he purchased large estates and at the same time gave alms in the form of pious and charitable works (Santana, 1751, p. 323). Although little is known of his life as a merchant, recent research has unearthed some new information about the priests ecclesiastic life. Thus, based on documentation found in the Archivo General de Indias (General Archive of the Indies) in Seville, it can be seen that Padre Coutinho became an important mediator in the dispute between the two patronages in the Orient the Franciscans and the Jesuits (cf. text by Pedro Lages Correia) establishing contacts with important names in the history of oriental missions, such as Melchior Carneiro, Pedro Alfaro, Miguel Rugiero and Agostinho de Tordesilhas. There are various letters, both originals and copies, that testify to the effective presence of Andr Coutinho and his influence on the movement of Franciscans and Jesuits between Canton, Macau and Japan. The writings of these monks clearly show that Andr Coutinho sought to act as a conciliator in the somewhat tense relationship between the two religious orders, although his position was not always fully understood by the two parties. 1579 was probably the year when the merchant was ordained as a secular priest, also undoubtedly representing a very intense and important moment in the life of this man, as borne out by his copious correspondence. The oldest letter that has so far been discovered dates from 1 November of that year. It is a copy of a letter from Andr Coutinho to Pedro Alfaro, in which he introduces Miguel Ruggiero to him1. Nevertheless, although, in the Seville archive, we can find a letter from Pedro Quintero, a rich merchant living in Macau, dated 5 November, also
General de Indias (AGI), Audincia das Filipinas, 79, 6, published and partly transcribed by Freitas, 1995: 416, quoting Colin-Pastels, Labor Evangelica, 1, 305, note. I am grateful to Cristina Garcia Oviedo and Pedro Lages Correia for informing me about this letter and its respective complete transcription.
1 Archivo
addressed to Pedro Alfaro and Friar Juan Baptista, mentioning Andr Coutinho as el amigo andree coutio2, and equally expressing his gratitude for the letters and money sent by the priest, in another letter dated 13 November, Padre Coutinho himself complained to Agostinho de Tordesilhas of being treated like a traitor and of being misunderstood, possibly because of the already-mentioned ambivalence of his relations with the two religious orders. The correspondence took place almost on a daily basis because, on that same day, Coutinho wrote another letter to Pedro Alfaro, looking forward to his speedy arrival and also mentioning the difficult situation faced by priests in China3. Following this exchange of correspondence on 20 November4, Alfaro provided Agostinho de Tordesilhas with an account of his arrival in Macau, where he had been warmly received by the Bishop and by the priests of the Society of Jesus, drawing his attention to the hospitality of Andr Coutinho, who had offered them lodgings in a small house. Dating back to the years of this correspondence was this priests wish to finance a house for novices, since Coutinho showed great joy over the building of the House of Our Lady of Los Angeles, the first home of the Franciscans in China, stressing the need for both orders to join forces in order to build more houses in both China and Japan. Once again, Pedro Alfaro wrote to Agostinho de Tordesilhas, informing him that the priest had revealed his intention of building a novitiate for the Jesuits5. The correspondence that was found between Sebastio de Morales and the Father General of the Society of Jesus, leads us to believe that the priests intention remained unchanged until his return to Lisbon, because the exchange of correspondence between the two Jesuits clearly explains the priests ultimately unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a solution to his declared aims. A first letter from Morales to the Societys Father General, dated 15 February, 1585, leads us to believe that it is the same Andr Coutinho who, at that time, was in Lisbon proposing to the Jesuits a contribution of twenty thousand ducats for the Society of Jesus composed of a part paid in money and another part in the form of a debt that was to be collected in Portugal and India for the building of a house for the novices. An undated letter written by Morales allows us to confirm that the donation had been seriously thought about by Coutinho, since he drew up a list of compensations, rights and privileges for the founder of the House, proposing that the novitiate should receive the invocation of St. Andrew; he also demanded a series of economic compensations to be paid to him in
AGI, Filipinas, 79, 7, copy of the letter at the AGI, Filipinas, 84, 12. Filipinas, 84, 12. 4 AGI, Filipinas, 79, 8. 5 AGI, Filipinas, 79, 8.
2 3 AGI,
return, which would ensure his subsistence until the end of his life. At the same time, however, he made sure that, if his death were to occur before four years had elapsed, what he bequeathed in his will would be given to Japan (it can be presumed that he was talking about a novitiate that had meanwhile been founded in Japan). As a final demand, he asked that the house that they were to build for him should be situated next to the novitiate, and that he should have the right to his own door communicating between the two buildings. Yet, although he already sensed some hesitation on the part of the Jesuits, Morales also proposed that, when the building was completed, Coutinho could still help to pay for the benefice of the novitiate as well as the novices instruction6. In another letter dated 30 March of the same year, the same Morales, referring to a letter written on 28 January of that year7, stated that Andr Coutinho had wished to found a novitiate in Japan, but only while he was in India, and that he had changed his mind when he returned to Portugal. Instead, he transferred the same project to the national territory. Morales also stated that the Jesuit priests who were in Lisbon considered that, while, on the one hand, they believed that this foundation should definitely go ahead, on the other hand, because of the little hope we have of finding someone who will pay the other half, they also had serious reservations about the condition that the priest imposed for the money to be handed over immediately without waiting for the necessary approval of the Father General. In this way, he would immediately be able to start receiving the rent that he demanded. However, since he was not able to immediately make use of the amount in question, Morales argued that this situation might be in contravention of the provisions of the Census Arcatore of Pope Pius V, stating that this impasse might give rise to some complaints against the good name of the Society if it were known that we had the money in our possession and that we paid [the rents demanded by Coutinho] before it had been put to good use. In view of the Jesuits hesitation, Andr Coutinho agreed upon a maximum period of three to four months for the problem to be solved, asking that this question should be resolved as soon as possible because he wishes to settle down and ensure a more quiet life for himself, while noting that there are a lot of monks who are ready to offer him great profits, which he does not agree to because of the great love that he feels for the Society and because he leads his life with sincerity and truth. This warning was reiterated in a second letter that Morales sent on 16 April8 because he was afraid that the previous letter
6 ARSI, 7 ARSI,
might not have reached its destination, also stressing that Andr Coutinho had made it very clear that he would remain free and without obligations until a final decision was reached. The outcome of this process is clarified in a letter written two years later, on 25 February, 15879, in which Pro da Fonseca, addressing the Father General of the Society, acknowledged that the priest had received a negative answer to his wishes, stating that the decision had been made known to him in May of that year and reinforcing the reasons for this refusal, which was based on the fact that Coutinho had shown little stability in his decision-making. The Jesuits feared they would not have a patron for the orders novitiate, but they were wrong because, in the same letter, Fonseca stated that this mission had been taken over by Incio de Lima, who was the son of the Viscount of Ponte de Lima. When he had heard about the dispute between Coutinho and the Society, he himself had taken over responsibility for the foundation of the novitiate. In that letter, the Jesuit justified this transfer of interest through the close relationship between Coutinho and Lima, since the latter had been in China and Japan at the same time as Andr Coutinho. The exchange of letters between the monks of the various orders testifies to the constant and almost frantic movement of priests around the Orient, both those from the Society of Jesus and those from the mendicant orders, especially the Franciscans, who, from their base in Manila, did everything they possibly could to strengthen their position in the light of the Jesuits enterprising missionary activity in China. Naturally, it would be unthinkable to suggest that this power struggle was waged solely in the fields of faith and missionary work. Politics, trade and military power were other interrelated factors, creating a network that both supported and was supported by a web of traders who circulated with great ease among the places that offered the highest profits. This is the background against which we must situate Andr Coutinho, after thirty years dedicated to a most successful trading activity, as mentioned in his will10 (Freitas, 1995, p. 64). At that time, he enjoyed a close relationship with Dom Miguel da Gama, the
Lusitnia, 69, (s.d.) Lusitnia, 69, 30 March, 1585. 8 ARSI, Lusitnia 69, 16 April, 1585.
Lusitnia 70, 25 February, 1587. () declaring that I did not inherit my aforesaid estate from any relative, nor did I amass it through ecclesiastical office or benefit, not even after Our Lord had been gracious enough to have me ordained as a priest. I did not acquire it through any trade or business that I had after that, as can be seen from a certificate that was found amongst my papers, and was given to me for this purpose by Dom Leonardo, the most Reverend Bishop of China, where, by the grace of God, I was ordained as a priest. Instead, I acquired it through my hard work and industry in the different parts of India through which I travelled for thirty-eight years, during eight of which I was a layman without any orders. Transcribed by Freitas, 1995, p. 64.
10
9 ARSI,
great-grandson of the navigator and Viceroy Vasco da Gama. Miguel da Gama, the second son of Dom Francisco da Gama, was Macaus captain in 1580 and had rights over the trading vessel that had left that same year for Japan (Nagasaki), having established himself as an enterprising figure, probably supported by his familys connections with the Court and their influence in the Orient. His close relationship with Andr Coutinho was undeniable because it was with him that the priest returned to Portugal in 1583 (Silva, 2008, p. 147), later moving to the Convent of Our Lady of the Relics in Vidigueira, the pantheon of the Gama family. It was there, in Vidigueira, that the two men embarked upon the renovation of the Convent and, above all, the building of the church to which the greatly worshipped and miraculous image of Our Lady of the Relics was transferred on 8 September, 1593, together with other images from the old church. However, on 8 October, 1588, the Chapel of Our Lady of Conception was inaugurated, financed by the priest and situated to the left of the main altar in the transept of the church (Caetano, 1986, p. 196). The priest also ensured that the chapel received sufficient income for worship, as well as silver ornaments and liturgical instruments, itemised in a very explicit way. It was this space that he finally decided upon as his place of burial, choosing the wall to the right of the altar as the site for his tomb, on which was placed a stone crowned by a shield and inscribed with an epitaph that underlined the importance of his life: Chapel and grave of Andr Coutinho, the noble chaplain of His Majesty: which he founded and endowed with sufficient rent for the obligations that the priests of this house have, () he spent thirty-eight years in India and was the first priest to be ordained in China. He died on11. Andr Coutinhos tombstone was never completely finished, for the Carmelite monks never inscribed on it the date of the benefactors death (which we know to have occurred in February 1597). It is his will, dated 21 March, 1595, two years before his death, which gives us a precise description of his legacy. From the reading of his tombstone, we learn that he was the noble chaplain of the kings household and that he spent thirty-eight long years in the Orient. The monk could not conceal his pride in being the first priest to be ordained in China. From the correspondence mentioned earlier, in which he is already referred to as a priest, we understand that he must have taken his vows in Macau between 1578 and the beginning of 1579, with
11
the ordination being given by Dom Leonardo de S, who was the first Bishop of Macau between 1578 and 1597. After his return to Portugal in 1583, possibly immediately after the death of Dom Melchior Carneiro, the governor of the Bishopric of China and Japan, Andr Coutinho retreated to the convent of Vidigueira, where he was to stay for a long time, not only sponsoring the building work at the convent, but also, as Friar Jos de Santana tells us, strengthening his devotion to Our Lady of the Relics, who, through her miraculous intervention, had saved him from death during a serious bout of kidney stones, when everyone believed he was bound to die (Santana, 1751, pp. 344-346). As his health declined, he felt the need to write his will, in which he distributed his vast fortune, leaving large sums of money for the protection of the poor and destitute, generously distributing his property and slaves, and describing his possessions in great detail. It is a document that, besides outlining the generous donations that he made, provides us with information about some of his personal and political relations. As already mentioned, he was the royal chaplain, and it was in this capacity that, by means of a letter written by Cardinal Alberto and dated 21 January, 1586, he asked Filipe I for permission to accompany the Japanese ambassadors who had been sent to the Roman Curia. This letter, partially transcribed by Vassalo e Silva, confirms that the priest did not intend to stay in Portugal for the rest of his life, for it says: Andr Coutinho, who, in recent years, came from India and was in China, asks permission from Your Majesty to be allowed to return to those lands in the company of the Japanese, who this year will have to go to India. Either he shall go to India or he shall stay here in Portugal, and so, if there is no inconvenience, your permission is requested.12 The Japanese embassy to Rome was organised by Alexandre Valignano, a Jesuit Visitor in the Orient, and passed through Portugal in 1583, the year of Coutinhos return. Cardinal Alberto granted them three audiences in Lisbon13 (Sande, 2009, p. 350). It is possible that Coutinho entered into contact with the ambassadors at that time, given his familiarity with oriental culture. The date written on the cardinals letter (1586) coincides with a
CAPELA, E SEPULTURA DE ANDRE COUTINHO CAPELLO FIDALGO DE SUA MAGESTADE: A QUAL FVNDOU E DOTOV DE RENDA BASTANTE PERA AS OBRIGAONES, QUE TEM OS PADRES DESTA CASA, () ANDOV NA INDIA TRINTA, E OITO ANOS: FOI O PRIMEIRO SACERDOTE, QUE SE ORDENOV NA CHINA FALECEO AOS.
Arquivo de Simancas Secretarias Provinciais, cod. 1550, fls. 1, quoted in Silva 2008, pp. 147148. 13 Duarte de Sande mentions that the Japanese ambassadors were received by Cardinal Alberto, in Lisbon, in three separate audiences between August and September, 1584: Miguel: having visited us three times in the space of roughly one month, when we lived in Lisbon.
12
second visit made to Portugal by the embassy, on their return to Japan. It was then that Coutinho suggested returning to the Orient14. Among the property listed in Coutinhos will were various items made in the oriental style. Unfortunately, these were to become scattered around different places, and so far it has proved impossible to discover their trail15 (Contas, 1842). The panoply of precious articles that were listed in the will and later distributed to different homes ranged from pieces of furniture and porcelain objects to textiles, religious objects made of exotic materials, and finally jewels and silverware. As we have seen, the donation of these pieces to the Convent of Vidigueira was due to the close relationship that Andr Coutinho enjoyed with the Gama family. Not only were Dom Francisco and Dom Miguel da Gama named as the executors of his will, but they were also generously included amongst the list of benefactors. As has already been said, neither his chapel nor the church of Our Lady of the Relics were forgotten in the will, for they were bequeathed a rich collection of textiles, vestments and ornaments, which included a red writing-box (possibly lacquered). But the silverware was undoubtedly the great legacy left by this priest, who, in his own words, stated that I also leave all my silverware for use in church services; my large chalice with its altar cruets and silver dishes so that masses be held with them as well as my silver lectern the silver-decorated altar card, pax, thurible, incense boat, silver-decorated missal, six silver candlesticks, two large and two small. my ewer and partly-gilded silver dish two incense holders a silver host-box, so that all this may be used at religious services in my Chapel I leave the holy water bucket and its sprinkler also a silver lamp so that it may be displayed and lit at all the years festivities in my chapel. () I leave my reliquary with its silver-decorated doors, which has a crucifix in whose cross there is a fragment of the True Cross and other relics, so that it may be displayed in my chapel in the sacrarium that is made on the altarpiece, and in this way it will not be removed except for the purpose of
14 According to Lus Fris, the Japanese embassy embarked on its return to the Orient on 8 April, 1586, quoted by Loureiro, 1993, p. 58. 15 As far as the Convent of Vidigueira is concerned, from the long list of pieces contained in this report, some were distributed to the Parish Church of Odemira. Kept in reserve at the Casa da Moeda (the Mint) were a missal lectern, a pax, a reliquary and an altar card. Of this group of pieces, only the whereabouts of the altar card is unknown, since the other three pieces were incorporated into the collection of the Academia das Belas-Artes in 1883 and later into the MNAA collection: since 2006, the oratory-reliquary, (Inv. 99 Our); the pax (Inv. 98 Our) and the missal lectern (Inv. 100 Our) have been classified as heritage of national interest (Dec. n 19/2006 of 18 July).
Cat. 1 Oratory-Reliquary India (?) c. 1580 Silver, partially gilded and polychromed, gilded copper, partially polychromed, wood, glass, velvet 66 x 40 cm Provenance: Convento do Carmo, Vidigueira Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, inv. 99 Our
its being used in some solemn procession that is held at the convent. (Freitas, 1995, pp. 52-72)16. (cats. 1, 2 and 3) The oriental origin of the pieces under study here was noted from the very beginning, and it has always been stressed by those who were interested in them. In 1604, immediately after the opening of Coutinhos will, the oratoryreliquary was taken to the Archbishop of vora, Dom Alexandre de Bragana, in order for the relics to be authenticated. In his description of the piece, the apostolical notary noted its oriental origin (Silva, 2008, p. 150). In an article dedicated to the three pieces originating from the Convent of Vidigueira, Joo Couto quotes Teixeira de Arago (Arago, 1898, pp. 164 and foll.) and mentions a manuscript that this latter consulted and incorporated into his private library with the title Fundao do Convento de Nossa Senhora das Relquias da Ordem do Carmo, que est junto da vila da Vidigueira, e como esta Senhora appareceu, e das sepulturas que nelle h dos senhores da casa da Vidigueira17, dated 1646, in which its author, Friar lvaro da Fonseca, made the very first mention of the objects (Couto, 1938, p. 7). Later, in 1727, when the Carmelite chronicler, Friar Manuel de S, described his visit to the Alentejo convent, he gazed in wonderment at those pieces, identifying the oratory-reliquary as a monstrance and noting that it was the most precious of all the works of art kept at that convent (S, 1721, pp. 246-247). Perhaps the initial confusion about the appropriate use of the term arose less from the question of the objects form, and more from the fact that the Portuguese word for monstrance (custdia) derives from the verb custodiar meaning to protect what is inside. Yet, from his description, there remains no doubt that it is the oratory-reliquary he is referring to. Roughly three decades later, in 1751, Friar Jos de Santana18 made a detailed description of the piece, in which he referred not only to its important place in the convents treasure and within the order itself, but also to the impression that this treasure had upon him. Both chroniclers described the pax and the missal lectern, but undoubtedly it was the oratory-reliquary that most caught their attention. It was this last monk who described the pax in great detail in his chronicle: made of silver filigree that is so delicate that it causes much admiration. On the front is the picture of a curious altarpiece decorated with two perfect
16 Arquivo Histrico da Santa Casa da Misericrdia do Porto, Livro I dos Testamentos, Testamento de Andr Coutinho. Vila da Vidigueira, 21 de Maro de 1595. fls. 156 and foll., transcripts by Freitas, 1995, pp. 52-72, and quoted in Orey, 1996, pp. 158-159. 17 The Foundation of the Convent of Our Lady of the Relics of the Order of Mount Carmel, which is close to the town of Vidigueira, and how this Lady appeared, and about the tombs that are to be found there of the lords of the house of Vidigueira. 18 Santana, 1751, quoted by Silva, 1996, pp. 160-163.
Cat. 2 Pax India (?) c. 1580 Silver, partially gilded with traces of polychrome, glass 20 x 13 cm Provenance: Convento do Carmo, Vidigueira Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, inv. 98 Our
columns with a regular cyma, crowned by a remarkable triangular shape, accompanied by various pyramids. In the middle is the image of the Saviour of the World, giving His blessing, on the circumference of which, and in the inner spaces of the niche, 17 relics of various saints can be counted, contained in deep round frames covered with crystal and decorated with fine mouldings. The back of the piece consists of a most subtly chased silver plaque, which has been noted in other similar works of art (Santana, 1751, pp. 360-361)19. (fig. 1) A detailed observation of the three pieces serves to reinforce the idea, already put forward by various authors, that they were all made at just one workshop. For example, the engraved decoration of the base of the oratoryreliquary, with its coils of grapevines interspersed with small animals (fig. 2), is repeated in the background decoration of the lectern (fig. 3) and on the back of the pax (fig. 4). The embossed central figures of all three of these liturgical instruments certainly share the same source for their inspiration. Their somewhat oriental facial features (fig. 5) show how the heavily embossed work of the silversmith was designed to make the figures stand out more, creating a subtle but nonetheless evident three-dimensional effect, while the use of a broken line achieves a definite chiaroscuro effect, a technique that was also used in woodcuts and drawings. It is also possible to go beyond the two-dimensional plane of the silver plaque that forms the background of the lectern, thanks to the detail that places the figures feet outside the boundaries of the central plaque (fig. 6). In this way, a new visual plane is created, revealing the craftsmans confidence in his work and his knowledge of the art of perspective. The detail of the pyramid shapes that complete the decoration, mentioned in the descriptions of both the oratory-reliquary and the pax, together with the orifices that can be seen at the top of the missal lectern, form a stylistic link between the three objects that cannot be ignored. Besides this comparative analysis of the form and aesthetics of the pieces, some new information emerged in 2009 when the oratory-reliquary was subjected to a necessary cleaning intervention: the discovery of Kanji characters painted on the wooden base that forms the structure of this piece, and engraved or painted on the backs of the small reliquary boxes (fig. 7) (cf. text by Antnio Candeias and Belmira Maduro). Since then, the laboratory analyses and the conservation and restoration work carried out on these three objects have been accompanied by the formation of a national and international network of documentary and bibliographical research designed to read the characters and determine the meaning of their presence
19 Santana,
Cat. 3 Missal Lectern India (?) c. 1580 Silver, wood 51 x 39 cm Provenance: Convento do Carmo, Vidigueira Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, inv. 100 Our
1751, quoted by Orey, 1996, pp. 157-169.
Fig. 1 Pax. Detail (Christ the Redeemer)
Fig. 2 Oratory-Reliquary. Detail of the base
on the central piece the oratory-reliquary. The aim is thus to broaden the scope of this multi faceted research in order to clarify the wide range of different questions that have been raised. One of the questions to be analysed is undoubtedly Andr Coutinhos role in the historical and economic context of the circulation of religion and trade along the ManilaJapanMacauGoa axis. As Pedro Lages Correia writes, more than just simply defending their own limited business interests, the Franciscans or the Mendicant orders of Manila, just like the Church under Portuguese Patronage, had to remain in touch with a whole series of other interests that ranged from the commercial to the political. Only after becoming part of a network based on the notion of mutual cooperation was the ecclesiastical institution in question able to find the support that would guarantee its survival (Correia, 2008, p. 51). The religious orders and their leading personalities must be regarded as being among the main promoters of formal aesthetic models since they were responsible for the circulation of objects required for the purposes of worship, and it was these objects that were to have an undeniable influence on the local commissioning of such pieces. This circulation of religious objects can be noted in the documentation of that time, such as some documents to be found at the Ajuda Library, namely the Lembrana das couzas que manda o Padre Vizitador [Alexandre Valignano] que se compre todos os annos para o Japo20 (List of the things that the Visiting Priest [Alexandre Valignano] orders to be bought every year for Japan) which mentions a dozen small brass candlesticks for the altar; half a dozen gilded and not very large host-boxes; two small gilded lecterns for the altar; a dozen large and small bells21, or another list entitled Todas estas couzas de vontade do Padre Vizitador Alexandre Valignano que se compra na China todos os annos para mandarem a Jappo fora as que vierem de Goa as que no vindo se compraro e se mandaro a Japo22 (All of these things that the Visiting Priest Alexandre
Biblioteca da Ajuda, 49 V 3, Lembrana das couzas que manda o Padre Vizitador que se compre todos on annos para o Japo in Livro de vrias noticias trasladas de varios papeis que se conservo na secretaria da Provncia do Japo do Collegio da Madre de Deos da Companhia de Jesus da Cidade de Macao. 21 Idem, 49 V 3, Lembrana das couzas que manda o Padre Vizitador [Alexandre Valignano] que se compre todos os annos para o Japo in Livro de vrias noticias trasladas de varios papeis que se conservo na secretaria da Provncia do Japo do Collegio da Madre de Deos da Companhia de Jesus da Cidade de Macao. 22 Idem, Todas estas couzas de vontade do Padre Vizitador Alexandre Valignano que se compra na China todos os annos para mandarem a Jappo fora as que vierem de Goa as que no vindo se compraro e se mandaro a Japo.
20
Fig. 3 Missal Lectern. Detail of the background
Fig. 4 Pax. Detail of the reverse
10
Valignano wishes to be bought in China every year to be sent to Japan, except for those that come from Goa, which if they do not come will be purchased and sent to Japan), in which the following items are requested: seventy sheets of red Mandarin paper, a large jar of wormwood, cloves, cinnamon, sugar and ham. In April 1600, another list was drawn up entitled Lembrana do que se h de dar a cada Padre ou Irmo que vai para o Japo revista ultimamemte pello Padre Vezitador em Abril de 160023 (List of what is to be given to each Father or Brother going to Japan, recently revised by the Visiting Priest in April 1600), which, among the various objects that were to be delivered, refers to a Calaim or silver chalice, as well as candlesticks, religious vestments and missals, all of them religious objects used in the celebration of mass, which were usually distributed among the missionaries setting sail for the missions, as is confirmed by an undated document that refers to this practice in the case of monks being sent to Siam, Cambodia and Cochinchina24. Finally, there is a list dated December 160325, requesting that the necessary silver objects be sent, which, because they had become so expensive, required savings to be made on what was not essential for worship, such as, for example, cheese. In 1604, a letter mentioned the Couzas que o Visitador [Alexandre Valignano] manda trazer cada anno de Goa para o Japo26 namely four breviaries; six small and large missals; two dozen chest clocks; two dozen sundials; some spiritual books about the vanity of the world and the meditations of St. Augustine; a dozen Agnus Dei carved in silver and another one carved in the way that they are made in Goa; three or four crosses of the same work. Objects of this type were designed to be used for worship, as Lus Froes mentioned in one of his letters from Japan describing a procession (.) On Easter Sunday, one of the noble processions was held, with the greatest pomp and circumstance that I have yet seen in Japan. In attendance were all the grandees, and all the Christian nobles, and a great crowd of ordinary people. It is said that the Christians alone numbered fifteen thousand souls. All of the way leading to
Fig. 5 Oratory-Reliquary. Detail of the plaque (Virgin)
23 Idem, Lembrana do que se h de dar a cada Padre ou Irmo que vai para o Japo revista ultimamemte pello Padre Vezitador em Abril de 1600. 24 Idem, Rol do que se h de dar para os padres que forem s Misses de Sio, Cambodia, Cochinchina e Sumain (?) List of what is to be given to the priests going to the Missions of Siam, Cambodia, Cochinchina and Sumain (?). 25 Idem, Rol de couzas que se ho de mandar cada anno da ndia para provimento do Collegio de Macao List of things that are to be sent each year from India for the supply of the College of Macau. 26 Idem, Couzas que o Visitador [Alexandre Valignano] manda trazer cada anno de Goa para Japo Things that the Visitor [Alexandre Valignano] orders to be brought each year from Goa to Japan.
Fig. 6 Missal Lectern. Detail (St. Paul)
11
the cross, which is a long distance, was freshly adorned, and next to the same cross were twelve men armed with clean, shining weapons. Each of the main noblemen carried their own retablo in their hands, as the Visitor had brought many with him, and twenty-five boys from the seminary dressed in their albs, walked with their retablos in their hands. There was a procession consisting of a magnificently adorned litter, which was carried by four noblemen, and the large retablos and banners were raised high, with a large number of lanterns made of a thousand candles that shone brightly. The Visiting Priest carried a reliquary of the Holy Cross under a canopy, and the priests paraded in their capes and dalmatics27. The portability of liturgical instruments and of all the other objects that were necessary for the efficient performance of missionary work is a subject that needs to be examined within the context of the two profoundly different understandings that the two patronages (Franciscan and Jesuit) had of their evangelising missions, because, as Lages Correia states, for the Society of Jesus, in contrast to the Mendicant way of thinking, the idea of the convent as a holy space for conducting prayer and for leading a fully religious life does not exist (.). The Societys founder had given the order a structure that allowed for mobility and a full integration into the world (.) (Correia, 2008, pp. 106116). The materialisation of these two opposing concepts of the evangelising mission must have had an effect on the portability of objects, particularly the instruments used in liturgical services, which may well have undergone a progressive evolution with the consolidation of the Jesuit missions in the Orient, during the 1580s. It is this ambivalent context within which Coutinho operated that helps us to understand the iconographic duality of two of the pieces belonging to the so-called Vidigueira Treasure, namely the oratoryreliquary and the missal lectern. In the case of the oratory-reliquary, it is rather surprising to note that, inside the box, on either side of the representation of the Calvary, are the figures of St. Francis and St. Anthony. As the founders and inspiration for the mendicant orders, they are such powerful and obvious references that it is quite astounding that they should appear alongside the representation of the Jesuit symbol, IHS, accompanied by nails and a cross. Nevertheless, at the front of the cartouche placed at the top of the oratory, we can see a small miniature with the image of Our Lady of the People, reinforcing the invocation of the image of the Society of Jesus, although this miniature and its frame are made of a different silver than the rest of the piece. This makes it particularly pertinent
27 Idem, Carta que o Padre Lus Froes escreuo de Mico a quatorze de Abril de 1581 a outro padre do mesmo Japo Letter that Father Lus Froes wrote from Miaco on 14 April, 1581 to another priest from Japan.
Fig. 7 Oratory-Reliquary. Reverse of one of the shrines Kanji character
to raise the possibility that the original cartouche of the medallion had previously been filled with the Franciscan symbol. This insistence on the idea of a symbolic duality becomes even more evident when we look closely at the missal lectern. At the intersection of the arms with the stem of the cross, on the front of the lectern, there is a cartouche in which are engraved the wounds of Christ, the symbol of the Franciscan order, with a very similar representation to the one that can be found in the frontispiece of the work Relacion Verdadera (San Francisco, 1625), by Diego de San Francisco, dated 162528. Similarly, on the back of the lectern, the symbol adopted by the Jesuits again appears, reinforced by the Latin inscription JESUM VOCABIS NOMEN EJUS. This iconographic duality is even more understandable when analysed in the light of the biography of the man who commissioned this piece. These were times of indecision and mediation, when many possibly preferred to have one foot in each of the two opposing camps, so that we can understand that it was not only in the political and religious fields that this confrontation was to be noted, sometimes with quite tragic consequences. It was also to be found in the materialisation of this opposition, with significant traces still remaining that testify to a memorable moment in the history of the European presence in the Orient. The research that is currently in progress has forced us to rediscover the figure of Andr Coutinho, a case study that provides an extremely rich source of information with regard to the movement of Portuguese merchants and priests all around the Orient. It is this joining together of the different sources of inspiration that this project seeks to clarify inasmuch as possible, while also situating the figure of this priest as an interface between quite
28 Biblioteca
Nacional de Madrid, Inv. R/33166.
12
different missionary and political visions and as a model of the Portuguese merchant, with the Vidigueira Treasure serving as an example of the various ethnic, cultural and aesthetic crossovers. The international multidisciplinary team that has been formed for this purpose is therefore engaged in seeking to reveal the true wealth of this treasure, which represents the material expression of an important moment in the history of the decorative arts and today provides a crucial link in recreating the memory of the relationship between East and West.
THE COMMERCIAL MARITIME ROUTES AND THE PORTUGUESE PRESENCE IN ASIA (16-17TH CENTURIES)
Alexandra Curvelo*
The Asian world that the Portuguese encountered at the beginning of the 16th century was one of intense commercial maritime activity, where countless merchant communities flourished, displaying a surprising urban cosmopolitanism and being very open to innovation. In Southeast Asia in particular, the period between the 14th and 17th centuries witnessed what Anthony Reid has referred to as the Age of Commerce, being dominated by an increase in production, the arrival of the Europeans and the Islamicisation of its Mercantile States29. At the economic and political level, the already established monopolies and maritime networks were favourable to the Portuguese, but also represented one of the greatest challenges that they had to face, due to the fact that the Portuguese State of India was the first European presence to have established an institutionalised representation in this part of the world. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Indian Ocean was characterised by an atmosphere of dynamism and change. It was also a world that was marked by various physical, social and human realities, and consequently it cannot be thought of as being something stable and immobile. Bordered by the East African coast and the Strait of Malacca at either end, this enormous maritime space was, in those days, crossed by the transcontinental trade routes. On the middle and long-distance routes, which were operated in parallel to those used for coastal trade, we can point to three fundamental and complementary segments or axes30. The first of these included the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the west coast of India, and East Africa, and had its main centre in India, to where ships sailed from Africa, the Middle East31 and the China Sea. The second segment also included India, but now added to this were Java, Sumatra, Burma, Thailand and the ancient kingdoms of the Mekong. The third segment included China, Japan, and the mainland and
Lobato, 2000, p. 15. Oliveira, 2003, p. 39. 31 Lombard, 1998, p. 126.
29 30
* The first results of this research were presented by the project authors, Lusa Penalva and Belmira Maduro, in the paper that they presented at the International Conference on Art History entitled Portugal, Europe and the Orient. Circulation of artists, models and works, organised by the Fundao das Casas de Fronteira e Alorna on 19 March, 2010. The paper had the title of O oratrio-relicrio da Vidigueira, uma redescoberta, and will be published in the Proceedings of the Conference.
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- THE COMMERCIAL MARITIME ROUTES AND THE PORTUGUESE PRESENCE IN ASIA (16-17TH CENTURIES) -
island regions of Southeast Asia. On this map, the city of Malacca stood out in particular, because of the crucial position that it occupied, at the point where the three routes converged. It was perhaps the largest trading centre in this region. Around 1500, Malacca was one of the main maritime commercial centres, if not the worlds largest trading post in the 15th and 16th centuries32. Declared a vassal of China and ruled by a Muslim elite since the beginning of the 15th century, when its Rajah converted to Islam, Malacca imported the vast majority of its basic necessities, taking its power from the role that it played as an intermediary between Insulindia (a producer of raw materials), India and China (producers of silk, cotton, ceramics and other manufactured goods). Its third sovereign embarked upon a policy of territorial conquest, taking control of a significant part of the Malay Peninsula and the coast bordering Sumatra. In this way, he established a capital-metropolis of a small empire bisected by the Strait of Malacca33. China, once the proud owner of a vast empire, had an economic system that () was still the worlds strongest, richest and most varied empire, capable of exerting a very considerable influence over the direction, composition and size of world trade34. The intricate and complex group of territories, trading posts and military centres, people, goods and interests, claimed by the Portuguese Crown was not only too large, but also excessively diverse and complex, so that it did not always allow for a passive administration. While there were situations that enabled the land to be occupied with some degree of permanence (as was the case with Goa, Cochin, Colombo, Malacca and Macau, which were the only cities where the Portuguese exercised full sovereignty and jurisdiction), it was also inevitable, in other cases, that the Portuguese presence had to coexist with other forms of exercising authority, this time in a more limited way, as was the case with the fortresses and factories. The imposition of an exclusive trading monopoly to the east of Malacca and even to the west of the strait (for example in the Bay of Bengal) was always an impossible venture. The monopoly was permanently broken, and these maritime regions represented the ideal space for an anarchic expansion, since piracy and privateering were also rife in this area35. In the second half of the 16th century and the first few decades of the 17th century, Goa, the capital of the State of India, was a microcosm of the
Lobato, 2000, p. 13. Oliveira, 2003, p. 49. 34 Chauduri, 1998, p. 251. 35 Thomaz, 1998, p. 80.
32 33
Portuguese presence in Asia. According to the available written and visual documentation, in this political, administrative, economic, religious and cultural centre of the so-called Portuguese Asia, we find the picture of a society with its own hierarchy and client structures, in which the high nobility had its own army of soldiers and was connected with merchants who had married for essentially financial reasons36. Many of them were the second sons of the landed nobility, who had set sail for India in search of fame and fortune, where they found a territory in which it was relatively easy to escape the intricate webs of power. For Portuguese society in general, and for these second sons in particular, the Portuguese Asian Empire represented a factor of stability, since it afforded some of them the chance to become upwardly mobile and generally guaranteed the economic and social power of the nobility37. In our search for a figure who might be considered paradigmatic of this context, Dom Francisco da Gama (1565-1632) is perhaps one of the best examples of the multi-faceted nature of this society, not only because of his own life trajectory, but also because of the different people that we tend to find associated with him. The great grandson of Vasco da Gama and a survivor of the Battle of Alccer Quibir, Francisco da Gama was appointed Viceroy of India in 1595 and was reappointed to the same office in 1622. He arrived in Goa in May 1597 and, during the following years, was responsible for implementing various reforms designed to bring an end to corruption and the successive abuses that severely harmed the Crown. He was able to reorganise the Portuguese fleet and to combat the competition of its enemies, in spite of his opponents accusations that he was abusing power38. He was highly praised by Diogo do Couto in his work Dcada XII da sia, and we find him to have been closely associated with one of the great private merchants of that time, Ferno (Ferdinand) Cron (1559-1637), one of the several foreigners of German descent who had settled in Goa. This connection was at first cemented through jewellery, diamonds and precious stones. Cron was the agent of the Weggers and Fggers in India and, by
36 The fact that among the Portuguese high nobility in India, especially in Goa, there were tensions and conflicts resulting from private interests and the networks of established clients is something that was made quite clear by the famous episode of the destruction of the statue of Vasco da Gama on the night of January 3 to 4, 1601. An investigation was immediately undertaken to discover who was responsible for the riot. For an analysis of this riot and related events, see Bethencourt, 1998, pp. 307 and foll. 37 Subrahmanyam, 1995, p. 348. 38 See Bethencourt, 1998, p. 307 and foll., not only in order to understand the profile of this historical figure, but also to realise the type of tensions that were created by the policies that he implemented.
14
marrying the daughter of a Portuguese nobleman during the rule of the Viceroy Matias de Albuquerque, he managed to become a citizen of Goa, enjoying access to the city administration and having the chance to join the Santa Casa da Misericrdia since he was both a resident and married (morador e casado). He was also entitled to wear the habit of the Order of Christ. While he enjoyed close contacts at the highest levels in Lisbon, Madrid and Antwerp, his patrons in India were the governor Manuel de Sousa Coutinho and the viceroys Rui Loureno de Tvora and, above all, Dom Francisco da Gama, whose Asian businesses he managed during the period when Dom Francisco was absent from India, or, in other words, from 1600 until the 1620s. We also find some of his most important supporters among the ranks of the New Christians, such as Garcia de Melo, the overseer of finances, as well as a number of merchants. In 1611, Cron was the only agent in Goa permitted to act as an intermediary between Asia and Europe, and was one of the few who managed to escape unharmed from the hostile climate towards the non-Portuguese that existed at the beginning of the 17th century, as we can see from the laws passed in 1605 decreeing the expulsion of the foreigners who lived in India, Brazil, Guinea, So Tom, Cape Verde, the Azores and Madeira. He achieved this privileged status through his policy of carefully dictating the marriages of his daughters, sensibly ensuring that his offspring would become members of some of the most influential families in Portuguese India. In 1611, he was appointed by the Queen Dona Margarida as her attorney in Asia, and was granted two voyages to Japan, with which he was able to pay for the building of the Augustinian Convent of the Incarnation in Madrid, close to the Royal Palace. He left Goa definitively in 1624 and lived in Madrid from 1627 until 1637, the year of his death39. Cron was one of the many regular users of potentially the most lucrative voyage of those times: the voyage along the Macau-Japan axis. In the China Sea, Macau gradually emerged as the starting point for most of the voyages taking place to Japan, but it was also possible to sail from there to Insulindia and Indochina. In fact, the development of this trading post was largely due to its situation at the centre of three maritime routes that were fundamental in the geography of oriental Asia, all of which had as their common denominator the export of Chinese silk: the route that connected Macau to India and Lisbon; the one that continued on to Japan and, finally, the one that, passing through Manila in the Philippines, ended in Acapulco in Spanish America40.
39 40
Here the influence of Portuguese businessmen (private merchants or adventurers) was predominant. Even before the foundation of the trading post of Macau, during the 1530s and 1540s, as well as during the 1560s, the Portuguese used the ports on the Chinese coast, firstly in Fujian province and then later in Canton, to lay the foundations for the trade between China and Japan that Macau was to manage from 1557 onwards, as a result of the Ming Empires ban on all foreign trade with Japan41. The material proof of the regular relations between Malacca and China during this period before Macau was established can be found in the commissions that were made for the production of artistic works, with the famous blue-and-white Chinese porcelain pieces being one of the best known examples. We are reminded here specifically of the piece remaining from a certainly much larger set commissioned in China by the Captain of Malacca between the years 15281529 and 1539-1542, Pero de Faria. Not only does this piece contain a representation of the armillary sphere, but it also displays the inscription in the time of Pero Faria, 153142. The increase in the so-called informal presences took place mainly in regions that were distant from the places where the great Asian commercial maritime routes operated, where official interests were not so evident or where it was an almost impossible task for the Crown to levy duties on all of the maritime trade. It was to these individuals that we owed the consolidation of the Portuguese presence in regions such as Pegu, Cambodia, Champ, Cochinchina, Bali Island, Timor, Solor Island, Macassar, Borneo and Celebes. This was also a process to which the alliances established between the private merchants and the missionaries43 made an important contribution. The Portuguese presence in Macau and Japan was also developed under the auspices of this alliance between the network of merchants and the network of missionaries44. Macau therefore emerged as the dominant city, to use an expression coined by Braudel, because, in the final analysis, it was from there that the trade with Japan45 was regulated and controlled. If we exclude the Cape route, the voyage between Macau and Japan resulted in profits that were
Mathew, 1997, pp. 183-186; Subrahmanyam, 1995, pp. 337-338. Lourido, 1995, p. 22.
Oliveira, 2003, p. 53. There is another piece, in this case a cup decorated with a coat of arms, also associated with Pero de Faria, but on this occasion relating to the year 1541. This cup can be found in the Duca di Martina Museum, in Naples. 43 Oliveira, 2003, p. 56. 44 Flores, 1998, p. 145. 45 On the subject of trade with Japan, in this article I essentially follow the arguments of the Masters degree thesis by Leito, 1994.
41 42
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equivalent to between 5% and 7% of the total income of the State of India at the end of the 16th century46. Like all the others, this route was not without its risks. This led the captaincy to auction the voyage to Japan instead of merely granting it, with the Portuguese Crown managing to remain aloof from the costs and risks involved, choosing instead a solution of noncommittal that brought it greater profits. The Crown did, however, claim the right to control the voyage, because, in addition to its regulation of the process, it also required the buyer to obtain a guarantee from the viceroy. Among the clients of these voyages were both Portuguese and foreign entities, such as Ferdinand Cron, or the Convent of the Incarnation in Madrid, which was granted the right to five voyages to Japan47. From the 1560s onwards, the Macau-Japan axis emerged as one of the fundamental pillars of Portuguese trade in Asia, with Macau being an important hub. The copper and silver mined and traded in these areas of the Asian continent supplied the Goa Mint and thus the sale of voyages from China to Japan became an important source of income for the Crown. This was particularly well noticed at that time: I say that they are the best and the most profitable of all the voyages that are made in those parts of India, and they are supplied to very honourable noblemen and provide us with very particular goods and services.48. According to Sanjay Subrahmanyam49, in the 16th century, this axis opened a new outlet for private trade, drawing the attention of private merchants to a field of activity where they were not in competition with the Crown. Another role that it performed was to increase the duties collected by the Goa and Malacca Customs. The Portuguese benefited from a series of internal factors in the kingdoms of China and Japan, which helped to make them the central agents in this process. The ban prohibiting the Chinese from trading with Japan left the way open for the Portuguese, while in the last quarter of the 16th century the Japanese had concentrated the bulk of their overseas trade in the Philippines and Southeast Asia instead of China. People such as Dom Francisco da Gama and Ferdinand Cron lived in a transitional period, at a time when important changes were already taking place in the political and economic context of the 1570s and the essentially coastal focus of Portuguese Crown policy in Asia began to be called into question. In fact, the period between 1570 and 1610 can best be described as
Idem, Ibidem, p. 14. Boxer, 1989. 48 Livro das Cidades e Fortalezas..., Cap. XVII: Da Importancia e qualidade de cada huma das viagens da India, fl. 95. 49 Subrahmanyam, 1995, pp. 148-149.
46 47
a time of re-orientation, when there was a balance of forces between the need for territorial consolidation and the challenges presented by the maritime adventures50. This was a phase in which two tendencies the control over maritime trade, on the one hand, and the control over the territories, on the other hand vied with each other in terms of importance. During the reign of the king Dom Sebastio (r. 1568-1578) the companhias de ordenana (companies of auxiliary troops) were formed, the fleets were reinforced and several initiatives of a military nature were introduced51. This panorama remained almost unchanged during the reign of Filipe II of Spain, who was king of Portugal between 1580 and 1598. In analysing this period, it is important to consider that, even though an administrative separation was established between the Portuguese and Spanish overseas territories, this division was not reflected in the political and economic dynamics of that time. Instead, there was a convergence of interests, which gave rise to both symbiosis and conflict, and it can be stated that, contrary to what is sometimes suggested, the Spanish branch of the Hapsburg family did not abandon Portuguese Asia52. The greatest conflict of interests occurred in regions of Insulindia and East Asia, where the Portuguese from Macau and Nagasaki and the Spanish from Manila were afraid of mutual interference in their respective markets. The interests of both parties were, at least theoretically, safeguarded by the official separation of the two Crowns agreed at the meeting of the Cortes in Tomar, which legitimised the conquest of the Portuguese throne by the Spanish monarch. However, although it was stipulated in one of the clauses of this agreement that the colonial domains of the two Crowns should continue to be kept administratively separate as they had been until then, and that all navigation and trade between them should be absolutely forbidden53, the actual reality was quite different. Let us take as an example the case of the Philippine archipelago and the dynamics of the Manila-Acapulco axis. This immediately places us amidst an amazing confluence of people and goods that departed from the Philippines and were shipped to the Ibero-American territory on board magnificent vessels known as Manila Galleons. This new transoceanic route had been inaugurated in 1573 with the ships Santiago and San Juan, which transported a cargo that included 712 pieces of silk and 22,300 items made of porcelain54.
Idem, 1995, p. 151. Nepote, 2000, p. 137. 52 Valladares, 2001b, p. 73 and foll. 53 Boxer, 1990, p. 58. 54 Kuwayama, 1997, p. 13.
50 51
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These quantities are in themselves sufficient evidence of the importance of this trade, clearly heralding the great wealth that was to be transported along this route55. In 1640, the Galleon transported a cargo of 2 million silver pesos from Acapulco to the Philippines, while on its return it carried a cargo of Chinese silk valued at two and a half million silver pesos, thus making this the most profitable route in all the international trade at that time56. What was to become the longest maritime journey without touching land was also the one that lasted longest in chronological terms, since the ManilaAcapulco-Manila route remained active for 250 years, even surviving the establishment of the direct connection between Spain and the Philippines via the Cape of Good Hope in 176357. During this period of two and a half centuries, it is estimated that as many as 30 galleons were shipwrecked, resulting in the disappearance of 1600 men and the loss of goods amounting to 60 million pesos in value. Between 400 and 600 passengers were carried on board this immense floating treasure, including the crew58. After boarding the vessel at Cavite, they set out on the longest and most exacting of all ocean crossings. The voyage from Asia to America took on average 7 months, corresponding to the most arduous and dangerous journey, not only because of the natural phenomena that were encountered along the way and obliged the vessel to make the so-called Vuelta de Poniente (Western Turn) or, in other words, to draw closer to the Japanese archipelago, but also because of the threat from Dutch and English pirates. The Dutch power in that area of the globe, in the late 16th and early 17th century, resulted in the appearance of two warships under the command of Olivier van Noort in Manila Bay in October 1600, thus heralding the difficulties that Spain would have to face in its Pacific domains59. Travelling in the opposite direction, however, from America to Asia, Manila could be reached in only 3 months, with the route passing by Hawaii and the Caroline Islands. In order to ensure that this great challenge to both natural and human forces could be successfully overcome, the galleon was an immense vessel that was simultaneously a merchant ship and a warship, since it was armed with cannons. It was built at the Cavite shipyards by skilled craftsmen and their native apprentices, both Chinese and Malay, under the responsibility of the governor of Manila. The raw material that
See the article by Boxer, 1958, pp. 539-547. Pires, 1987, p. 29. 57 The most important study on the Manila Galleon is the work by Schurtz, 1992. 58 The first galleons, however, only transported between 60 and 100 men. 59 Lach; Kley, 1993, p. 312.
55 56
was used was timber from the archipelago, although the metal pieces were manufactured in China, Japan, Macau and/or India60. Since 1580, the Spanish had dreamed of merging the Asian and American routes together, in such a way that the Spanish galleons could cross from the New World to India in order to arrive at Lisbon and not Seville, although this dream was never fulfilled. In the last three decades of the 17th century, albeit at much lower levels than those recorded in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the Cape Route recovered its importance through a trade that obeyed a new commercial logic, since the vessels travelling the Route to India occasionally docked at Atlantic ports, along the West African coast or in Brazil, which paved the way for smuggling. After its foundation in 1549, Salvador da Baa was one of those ports where vessels were forbidden to stop by the regulations promulgated in 1565 to control the India Route. But in the case of the Atlantic Ocean, just as had happened in Asia, mere legislation was not enough to prevent such trade. From 1672 onwards, the Viagem em direitadura (the direct voyage from Goa to Lisbon) was authorised to stop in Baa on its return journey, building a relationship that became even closer after 1690 and the discovery of gold in Minas Gerais61. There were other horizons opening up and new networks that were being developed.
* Curator of the Museu Nacional do Azulejo and Visiting Assistant Professor at the Art History Department of the Faculdade de Cincias Sociais e Humanas of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Researcher working under the auspices of the Centro de Histria de Alm-Mar (CHAM-FCSH/UNL). This text is the result of the research undertaken for the PhD thesis in Art History, presented at the Faculdade de Cincias Sociais e Humanas of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa in June 2008 and entitled Nuvens Douradas e Paisagens Habitadas. A Arte Namban e a sua circulao entre a sia e a Amrica: Japo, China e Nova-Espanha (c.1550-c.1700). Mention must also be made of two texts already published by the author: Curvelo, Do Trato do Japo and Os Portugueses na sia dos sculos XVI-XVII: dinmicas econmicas e sociais e vivncias artsticas e culturais.
60 61
Lorente Rodrigez, 1944, pp. 110-120 and Schurtz, 1992. Subrahmanyam, 1995, p. 261.
17
JESUITS AND MENDICANTS IN EAST ASIA. SOME CONSIDERATIONS

Pedro Lage Reis Correia
The purpose of this text is to provide a historical context for the three pieces included in the group of art works known as the Vidigueira Treasure, as well as a background for the activity of Father Andr Coutinho, who is closely associated with the production and circulation of these pieces. With this in mind, it was also considered useful to contextualise the Jesuit and Mendicant presences in East Asia. Although that same context directs our attention to the missionary activity that took place in the 16th century, it is advisable to briefly point out the initial contacts forged between the Mendicants and East Asia. The first known contact between a western missionary and Asian political powers was established in the 13th century by a direct disciple of St. Francis of Assisi. Following the Mongol expansion into Eastern Europe, and with the aim of entering into negotiations with the invading army, Pope Innocent IV decided, in 1245, to send the Franciscan Giovanni da Pian del Carpine on a diplomatic mission. The experience of Carpine in Eastern Europe, as an organiser of the Franciscan presence in German territory, as well as in Hungary and Bohemia, enabled him to become the Popes representative to the Mongol authorities. The Franciscan diplomat arrived at the Asian steppes in July 1245, where he attended the election of the new Khan, Gyk. Carpine met Gyk Khan on various occasions, conveying to him the Holy Sees wish to reach a peace agreement with the Mongol authorities. Besides this immediate objective, the Franciscan missionary was given a mandate to sound out the Mongol sovereigns willingness to enter into an alliance with the Christian kingdoms for the liberation of the Holy Land. The diplomatic mission failed. Apart from the fact that the Khan was determined to implement a strategy of occupying Eastern Europe, the position of parity adopted by the Pope, as shown through the Papal documents presented by Carpine, seems to have excluded any possibility of agreement. Later, internal disagreements weakened the invasion plan and the rivalry between Gyk and Batu, the commander of the western front, led to the retreat of the Mongol armies.
The following contacts between Christian friars and East Asia took place towards the end of the 13th century, also under the auspices of the Franciscan order. In 1289, Nicholas IV (a former Franciscan) sent the equally Franciscan Giovanni da Montecorvino to China, with the purpose of assembling the Nestorian Christian communities under the primacy of the Pope. Although, in 1292, he obtained permission from Kublai Khan to live in Beijing, his efforts were rejected by the Nestorian Christians. In 1307, Pope Clement V sent seven Franciscans to assist Montecorvino, reinforcing his authority through the award of the title of Archbishop of Beijing and Primate of China. This appointment had no impact at all on the Mongol authorities or on the Nestorian communities that continued to reject the primacy of the Pope.62 After these sporadic contacts during the 13th century, the religious orders activity in East Asia only began to be really influential from the 16th century onwards, in the context of the Iberian presence. As far as the Portuguese Patronage (Padroado Portugus) was concerned, the Ineffabilis et Summi Bull issued by Pope Alexander VI in 1497 established a legal framework for the Portuguese presence in Asia, affording the Crown the right to evangelise the people living to the east of the Cape of Good Hope63. But, if there was now a legal framework for the Patronage, at the practical level, the Portuguese presence in the first half of the 16th century was successful in integrating itself into the Asian world. Gradually, PortugueseAsian trading networks were established, which were crucial for the circulation and integration of the missionaries in East Asia. Thus, after the conquest of Malacca in 1511, the Portuguese established themselves on the East Asian trading circuits. Firstly, they settled between Malacca and the Chinese southern coast, then between Kyushu, in the south of Japan, and Macau. This Portuguese presence began to become consolidated, in particular after the arrival of the Portuguese in Japan in 1543 and their definitive settlement in Macau in 1557.64 At the same time, the activity of the religious orders was gradually becoming associated with these Portuguese-Asian trading networks. It was in this context that St. Francis Xavier arrived in Japan in 1549. It was also as part of an association of traders that the Dominican Friar Gaspar da Cruz entered China. In 1554, he was in Malacca and, two years later, he was to be found on the Chinese coast, as part of a group of traders. In December, he
See Standaert, 2001. See Huiskamp, 1994. 64 AAVV, 1993; Barreto, 2000; Costa, 1995.
62 63
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managed to obtain from the local authorities permission to stay in Canton for roughly one month, again forming part of a group of Portuguese merchants. Despite his not being able to establish a permanent residence, he began to gather information about Chinese society. He was probably already in Portugal in 1564 and, besides writing from his own experience, Gaspar da Cruz systematised and organised all the knowledge about China that had reached Portugal since the beginning of the 16th century, publishing the Tratado das cousas da China (vora, 1570), the first monograph entirely dedicated to China to be printed in Europe.65 At the beginning of the second half of the 16th century, the interaction between the Society of Jesus and merchant groups played a fundamental role in consolidating the presence of both groups in East Asia. These latter merchants were of enormous importance in transmitting experience and knowledge, also establishing the necessary material and financial conditions for the implantation of the missions. Towards the end of the 1550s and the beginning of the 1560s, this partnership allowed for the stabilisation of a Portuguese-Asian community in Macau. In 1562, the first residence of the Society of Jesus was inaugurated in this port city, when the merchant Pedro Quintero gave part of his premises to the Jesuits Lus Fris and Giovanni Battista del Monte, who were travelling to Japan. The following year, the first group of Jesuits took up residence there, composed of the priests Francisco Perez and Manuel Teixeira, as well as Brother Andr Pinto. In the course of the next two years, Perez and Teixeira accompanied the merchants to Canton in an attempt to settle in the city, a venture in which they were not successful. Thereafter, the Society was to try and consolidate its presence in Macau, operating in conjunction with the Japanese Mission66. In fact, in Japan, the partnership between Jesuits and Portuguese-Asian merchants was also an important factor in strengthening the presence of both of them in Japanese territory. Given the absence of a strong central power, the political scene consisted of roughly 70 fiefdoms governed by local lords (daimyo). The experience of the Society of Jesus since 1549 made it possible to understand the different regional realities, as well as the mechanisms whereby Japanese society operated. This accumulation of knowledge turned out to be of crucial importance, not only for consolidating the presence of the missionaries, but also for the activity of the PortugueseAsian merchants in Japanese territory.
In the 1560s, the contact between the missionaries and Omura Sumitada, one of the daimyo of Kyushu, who converted to Christianity in 1563, made it possible for the Macau merchants to settle on his domains, firstly in Yokoseura (1562), then in Fukuda (1563), and finally in Nagasaki in 1571, which became the central base of the Jesuit presence in Japan, as well as the port at which the nau do trato, a merchant frigate operating between Macau and Japan, would arrive.67 The association between the merchants from Macau and the Society of Jesus was strengthened some years later, in 1578, when the Jesuit Visitor Alessandro Valignano signed an agreement allowing the Society to invest in part of the silk cargo sent to Japan. Now that we have arrived at this phase, at the end of the 1570s, it is time to examine the arrival of the Franciscans in East Asia, and particularly in Macau. Under the scope of the Portuguese Patronage, there was already a wellestablished mendicant presence in India, especially on the part of the Franciscans. In fact, after the arrival of Pedro lvares Cabrals fleet in India, in September 1500, the Franciscans had taken responsibility for the main bulk of the missionary work, sometimes being helped by friars from other mendicant orders. In the 1530s and 1540s, this activity was accompanied by the foundation of various Franciscan institutions, most notably convents and seminaries in places such as Goa and Cranganore. 68 However, the Franciscan mission that Andr Coutinho was to find in China and Macau had arrived there via the Philippines, and its existence can only be understood as part of the Spanish presence in Manila.69 In the second half of the 16th century, the Spanish entered East Asia. In 1565, Andrs de Urdaeta established the route between the Philippines and Mexico, thus paving the way for a greater knowledge of the East by the Spanish world. Yet, when the Spanish established themselves in Manila in 1571, the Portuguese-Asian merchants were already integrated into the East Asian trading networks. The Spanish immediately sought to enter into the commercial routes of Far East Asia. With that purpose in mind, they took advantage of their contacts with the citys Foukien community to place Manila on the commercial route that connected China to the island of Luzon. In this context, the activity of the Manila mendicants was fundamental for ensuring the Spanish integration into the trading networks of the China Sea
Boscaro, 2008; Boxer, 1989; Idem, 1993; Bourdon, 1993; Costa, 1999; Pacheco, 1989. See Costa, 2000; Rego, 1940. 69 See Chaunu, 1960-1966; Corsi, 2008.
67 68
Loureiro, 1997; Idem, 2009. 66 Barreto, 2006.

65
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area. In the 1570s, Augustinian, Franciscan and Dominican friars were already working with the Foukien community with the aim of developing useful knowledge and strategies for their future entry into China via Fujian. In 1575, following a confrontation with the pirate Lin Feng, Manila obtained permission from the commander of the Chinese coastguard to send a representation to Fujian. The Spanish authorities decided that Martin de Rada an Augustinian friar who had arrived with Urdaeta in the 1564 expedition to the Philippines, was the man best prepared to lead this mission. Martin de Rada had worked closely with the Foukien community in Manila, so that the governor Guido de Lavezaris considered that he had sufficient knowledge to lead this Spanish representation to Fujian. This mission had the purpose of establishing a Spanish trading centre on the Chinese coast. The immediate effect of Martin de Radas mission was the arrival in Manila of some 28 Chinese books on a variety of subjects, such as astronomy, arithmetic, law and medicine. In this way, even though Radas visit did not have any political consequences, it nonetheless contributed to a greater knowledge of China in the Spanish world.70 It was in such a context that the Franciscan mission with which Andr Coutinho was to enter into contact first made its appearance in Chinese territory. Thus, at the beginning of 1579, a Franciscan mission left Manila heading for China. It was composed of Giovanni Battista Lucarelli, Augustn de Tordesillas, Sebastin de San Francisco and Pedro Alfaro, the Franciscan Superior in the Philippines. As had been the case with Martin de Rada, the purpose of this mission was to take advantage of the Franciscans contacts with Manilas Foukien community in order to establish themselves in Fujian. Since they did not manage to guarantee their presence in Fujian in June 1579, they went to Canton. They remained in that city for a few months, before they were expelled by the Viceroy in November, and arrived in Macau in that same month. Between June and November, the absence of a support network in Canton had led to a very rapid deterioration in their possibilities of remaining in that city. They had written to the Bishop Dom Melchior Carneiro as early as June, seeking to ensure their withdrawal and the establishment of a future presence in Macau. Since it was a frontier region, this port appeared, under these circumstances, as an area that was somewhat withdrawn from the Chinese world, just as, under other circumstances, it could be regarded as a privileged gateway to China. From the very first
70
contacts, Dom Melchior Carneiro encouraged these Franciscans to come to Macau. As the first bishop to arrive in Macau, in 1568, he sought to guarantee that his activity would remain autonomous from that of the Society of Jesus. The establishment of the Franciscan community in the city contributed towards this aim. It was in this same context that Andr Coutinho also made his appearance. He was a lay priest who was close to Dom Melchior Carneiro and represented the most immediate means of contact with the Franciscans in Canton. Besides taking responsibility for transmitting the bishops position, Coutinho also wrote to Tordesillas and Alfaro, pledging his personal commitment and material support for the foundation of a Franciscan residence in the city. In his view, it was fundamental that Franciscans and Jesuits could enjoy a peaceful coexistence in Macau. Consequently, in February 1580, the convent of Nossa Senhora dos Anjos71 was inaugurated there. This Asian space, subject to various dynamics and distinct conjunctures, became the setting in which Andr Coutinho was to lead his life, making it possible for us to understand the originality of these three silver pieces belonging to the Vidigueira Treasure.
See Rubis, 2004; Girard, 1999.

71
See Lopes, 1962; Teixeira, 1978; Cummins, 1978.
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THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE. CONSERVATION INTERVENTION AND STUDY

Antnio Candeias and Belmira Maduro
The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (MNAA) has in its collection one of the most important sets of religious silverware from the East, known as the Vidigueira Treasure, which is composed of a reliquary, a pax and a missal lectern. The conservation intervention performed on the reliquary in 2009, with a view to its inclusion in the Encompassing the Globe exhibition, resulted in the discovery of Chinese characters at the bottom of some of the receptacles and the cavities opened in the wooden box in order to house the relics. This discovery and the particularity of this piece led, in 2010, to the development of the project that includes the conservation intervention and the material, technical and historical study of the Vidigueira Treasure. The material and technical studies and the conservation intervention are being developed by the Conservation Department and the Jos de Figueiredo Laboratory of the Instituto dos Museus e da Conservao (IMC), in collaboration with the HERCULES Centre of the University of vora, while in parallel to this a documentary study is also being undertaken by the MNAA, in partnership with the Centre for Overseas History of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of the New University of Lisbon, as mentioned earlier in this catalogue. DESCRIPTION, TECHNIQUE AND STATE OF CONSERVATION ORATORY-RELIQUARY (CAT. 1) The oxidation of the silver and silver gilt of the oratorys decorative elements, caused by the environment and reflected in a uniform darkening of the entire surface of the silver, which hinders a correct reading of the piece, together with the detachment of the polychrome decoration existing on the figurative plaques, led to a conservation intervention undertaken in order to stabilize the piece and prevent its continued degradation. 21
The oratory-reliquary is composed of several materials whose conservation intervention required the dismantling of the silver elements. The piece consists of a central body composed of a wooden box with two doors, covered on the outside with blue velvet, with silver mounts, nails and fittings, and four oval frames with paintings/miniatures on copper. The wood from the inside of the box and doors are covered with paper, on which were placed eight silver, silver gilt and polychrome plaques, with relics. Inside the box is a wooden crucifix with its arms and stem filled with relics, with the one found at the intersection of the arms being that of the Holy Cross. The reliquaries are made of glass and two gilded copper sheets inserted in the wood, The figure of Christ is gilded and semi-polychrome. The pedestal into which the silver cross is inserted is also a reliquary. The central body is fixed onto a silver stand, consisting of a threedimensional rectangular element, a short stem and a circular base. These three elements have a wooden structure inside. The upper part of the main body of the oratory is surmounted by a silver element, comprising an oval frame at the centre, with a painting on paper depicting Our Lady of the People. Two acanthus leaves united at the centre of the frame spread from there symmetrically, ending in two volutes. The whole piece is surmounted at the centre by an urn, which is placed on the top of the box without being fixed in any way. In the two front corners of the box are two similar urns, with an identical format to the one at the top, but slightly smaller in size. The oratory-reliquary was subjected to an intervention in 1881 (Orey, 1996, pp. 157-169)72, when the original green velvet, which covered the outside of the box, was replaced by the present-day blue velvet, since the former material had already become threadbare and was wearing away at the edges. It was probably during this intervention that the positions of the paintings/miniatures were changed, with the ones on the doors being replaced by the ones on the sides of the box73. Currently, on the right door, we find the face of Christ with a crown of thorns and on the left door the figure of Christ the Redeemer, while on the right side of the box is the Annunciation and on the left is the Nativity. Due to the diverse range of materials used in the construction of the reliquary, the team considered the possibility of dismantling the piece in
72 73
Orey, 1996. Idem.
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order to determine the type of intervention that needed to be made. The decision to dismantle all the silver elements allowed for a more thorough and detailed treatment and made it easier to observe the techniques used to manufacture the silver pieces, as well as the structural changes that had been made to this piece in particular. The size of the box must also have been altered during the 1881 restoration intervention. The widths of the sides and thus of the tops were altered, becoming smaller in comparison with the two silver plaques at the sides, which were reshaped so that they could fit into the available space. The dismantling of the silver plaques that line the inside of the box revealed Chinese characters painted at the bottom of some of the holes made in the wooden structure of the back, sides and bottom of the reliquaries inserted in the silver plaques (fig. 8). The silver rectangular element which forms part of the pedestal on which the reliquary stands is misshapen. The silver in the corners, as well as at the upper ends is broken and cracked, directly caused by the size of the internal wooden structure. The wood that was used in its making, which seems to have been reused from elsewhere, was gilded with standard gold, which is not consistent with the fact that it is not made visible. This part of the structure was cut in order to adapt it to the dimensions of the round silver element (fig. 9).
Fig. 9 Oratory-Reliquary. Base of the box
Fig. 8 Oratory-Reliquary. Interior of the box
The dismantling of the oratory-reliquary facilitated the removal of the uniform and homogeneous oxidation layer from the surface of the silver and silver gilt. This process was carried out using both chemical and mechanical methods. It also facilitated the fixing of the polychromy of the low-relief figures inserted on the silver gilt plaques and the treatment of the paintings/miniatures on copper. This intervention was conducted by the Painting Division of the IMCs Conservation and Restoration Department. The silver elements used in the reliquary were made and decorated by expert silversmiths. The eight rectangular silver plaques inserted inside the doors and wooden box contain several representations of saints. On the doors of the oratory are the figures of St. Peter and St. Paul; on the left and right sides of the boxs interior, we can see St. Anthony and St. Francis of Assisi, respectively, while in the central panel are the images of the Virgin Mary and St. John. Depicted in the four corners of the boxs upper and lower plaques are cherubs, with the plaque at the top also containing, in the centre, a wax medal (Agnus Dei) with the scene of the Calvary and an inscription. The plaques were hammered and the figures were punched at the front and embossed at the back. The figures and angels have polychrome carnation and, at the back, they are still filled on the inside with a bituminous mass (fig. 10), which prevented the embossed work from losing its shape and allowed for the gently engraved decoration of the figures garments (fig. 11), beard and hair.
22
body of the reliquary are connected through a rectangular platform that conceals the gilded wood base. These two elements have a decoration of plant and animal motifs on a chased background, in which the most notable features are the intertwined branches with vine leaves, as well as birds and small animals comparable to rabbits or squirrels (fig. 12). PAX (CAT. 2) The pax, which simultaneously serves as a reliquary, is made of partially gilded silver and silver filigree. The piece has the form of a portico standing on a base, into which are inserted three reliquaries, displaying two side columns. In the centre is the figure of Christ the Redeemer, surrounded by an asymmetrical frame of reliquaries five on the right and four on the left he is depicted making a blessing gesture with his right hand and holding an orb in his left hand. The upper part of the portico is surmounted by an entablature with three reliquaries and a triangular pediment with another reliquary in the centre. At the top of the entablature are three holes, one in the centre and one at either end, possibly intended for the introduction of decorative elements identical to those of the missal lectern and the oratory-reliquary. In the lower part of the entablature are three small rectangular reliquaries. The pax is closed at the back by a silver plaque with a handle in the shape of a serpent. This plaque serves as a lid, attached to the back of the portico by nine side screws and a central one.
Fig. 10 Oratory-Reliquary. Detail of the engraved decoration
Fig. 11 Oratory-Reliquary. Reverse of a plaque
The figures are surrounded by a shaped, grid-like decoration composed of small flowers. These background motifs were made using a tool that simultaneously performed stamping and punching operations and created a pattern of vertical and diagonal lines. The way the pattern is developed can be seen in the central plaque, more precisely in the area hidden by the base of the cross, which, because it is not decorated, allows us to see those lines. This decorated silver was gilded with gold leaf, and it is still possible to see traces of this application on the back of the plates. The edges of the cloaks and tunics were also gilded using the same technique. The pedestal of the oratory-reliquary consists of two elements: starting from a circular base raised higher by alternately convex and concave friezes, decorated with oblique lines and bordered by a rope filament, there rises a cylindrical stem which ends in a tracery frieze. The stem and the central 23
Fig. 12 Oratory-Reliquary. Plaque that covers the base of gilded wood
The front of the pax is made of filigree without any support structure. This consists of thick rectangular threads that form the frame into which are inserted the decorative motifs of two more slender threads twisted together. The filigree volutes or coils are welded to one another. In the welding process, the threads were joined together using gum arabic sprinkled with borax and welding fluxes. The quantity of solder has to be gauged accurately, because if too much is used, as was the case with this piece, the finished work has a rough appearance. The filigree columns were made separately and were attached to the base and entablature by nailing a silver shaft inside the column, concealed by a mass of paper covered with a resin, of which only a few traces still remain, visible through the filigree (fig. 13). Using a similar technique to the one adopted for the production and decoration of the figures of the oratory-reliquary, the figure of Christ the Redeemer was embossed separately into a sheet of silver, with his tunic and cloak displaying an identical engraved decoration in the marking of their equally gilded folds and hems. On the back of the figure of Christ, it is possible to detect a certain misshaping caused by the embossing of the more voluminous areas, such as the head, the fold in the cloak and the orb. During the embossing procedure, the silver formed a number of cracks that had to be filled in with small patches of silver (fig. 14). On the back of the pax, the lid repeats the structure of the front, although a different decorative technique is used. While, on the front, the decoration is
Fig. 14 Pax. Interior of the reverse
Fig. 15 Pax. Detail of the handle
Fig. 13 Missal Lectern. Detail of the reverse of the lectern
based on the use of filigree, on the back the decorative motifs are carved, engraved and punched. The decoration of the central panel is based on a tree, around which a serpent is coiled, being bordered at the sides by carved and engraved half columns, repeating the model of the two columns on the front of the piece. The tree branches are intertwined with vine leaves and bunches of grapes, as well as symmetrically arranged, stylised flowers. There are several animal motifs included in this vegetal decoration: three birds can be seen perching on branches, and superimposed upon the vegetation at the base are a stag, a deer and a pair of rabbits. The tree is partly hidden by a serpent-shaped handle made of two embossed silver parts, joined by a gilded frieze with a carved decoration simulating scaly skin (fig. 15). As can be seen in the oratory-reliquary, gilding and polychromy were also used in the making of this piece. During this conservation intervention, it could be seen that all the friezes on both sides of the pax the mouldings of the reliquaries, several features of the figure of Christ the Redeemer (the glory, the hem of his cloak, the buttoning of his garments and the cross of 24
Fig. 16 Pax. Detail of the polychrome
the orb) and the frieze that runs along the serpents back are gilded. Observation with a binocular microscope allowed for the detection of traces of polychromy in the carnation of Christ the Redeemer, on the left ear and hand, the right eye and the mouth (fig. 16). On the pax, besides the general darkening of the silver surface, resulting from the formation of rust caused by the environment, the silver of the serpents head was cracked and the filigree was badly damaged and misshapen, involving the loss of a number of elements. The columns and pediment were the worst affected areas. The silver gilt areas displayed a badly worn gilding. In the reliquaries on the entablature and base, some relics were missing and there was no glass in four of them. In this intervention, the products that had altered the piece were removed using a mechanical process, some of the filigree deformations were minimised, and the missing panes of glass were manufactured and placed in the reliquaries. MISSAL LECTERN (CAT. 3) The missal lectern consists of a wooden structure comprising two hinged elements forming a scissor shape and completely covered with embossed silver plaques, with an engraved, carved and punched decoration.
The technique used in its manufacture, as well as the representations of the decorative elements, are very similar to those found in the two pieces described previously. The way the plaques are joined together and attached to the wooden support did not allow for their removal, since this could have exacerbated their already visible degradation. Close observation of this liturgical object showed that, of the three pieces under study, this was the one in the worst state of conservation, with major alterations being visible in the areas where it was most frequently handled. Besides showing serious deformation and denting of its embossed decoration, the silver was broken and displayed some gaps that had been filled in with silver leaf, which had either been welded or nailed to the piece. However, there were still some gaps in the silver, which allowed the wooden inner structure to be seen (fig. 17). The front of the central body has a decoration that consists of a portico with two side columns, similar to the columns on the pax, surmounted by a triangular pediment, with all the panels being surrounded by a rope frieze. In the centre is a cross engraved with a naturalistic decoration. At the intersection of the stem and the arms is a cartouche, ringed by a crown of thorns, on which are engraved the wounds of Christ, and at the ends of the arms and stem are representations of nails. In the upper part of the stem is the titulus and at the base of the cross is a small Mount Calvary with a skull.
Fig. 17 Missal Lectern. Detail of a gap in the silver
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The cross is flanked by St. Peter on the right, and St. Paul on the left. These three decorative elements stand out against a background profusely decorated with grapevines, vine leaves and bunches of grapes, flowers, birds and animals, all carved onto a punched background. The central panel is bordered at the top by a frieze with representations of plants and animals, and at the bottom by another frieze with a relief decoration, in which small circular buttons alternate with a capital "I". The centre of the triangular pediment at the top of the central body is marked by a cherub surrounded by a border similar to the frieze at the bottom of the central representation. The base of the lectern presents a distinct decorative language from the one that has been analysed so far with representations of satyrs and fantastic animals (fig. 18).
Fig. 18 Missal Lectern. Detail of the apron
The decoration on the back of the lectern has an identical structure to the one on the front, with a central panel in which two concentric lozenge shapes contain, in the centre, a glory of undulating rays with the "IHS" motif, the nails and the cross. The inner field has the form of a cartouche with the inscription "JESUM VOCABIS NOMEN EJUS". The outer strip, bordered by
two rope friezes, is decorated with intertwined plant and animal motifs, similar to the ones described previously. In the four outer corners of the lozenges are embossed representations of the gospel writers and their respective attributes on a background of engraved scales. Beginning in the top right corner and moving in a clockwise direction, one can see the figures of St. Matthew, St. John, St. Mark and St. Luke, each placed inside a cartouche (fig. 19). The silver covering the whole of the lectern is decorated with a stamped motif consisting of a repetition of a central palm leaf flanked by half palm leaves. At the top ends of the lectern are two openings in the wood into which metal screws were inserted, which possibly secured two decorative elements similar to the ones that were originally to be found on the reliquary and pax. The alterations that were made to the way that the silver plaques were joined together and secured to the wooden structure, with the introduction of solders and nails, as already mentioned above, meant that these could not be removed, so that it was impossible to see if, on the back of the embossed figures, any filling mass had been used, similar to the one found in the figures of the oratory-reliquary and the inside of the columns. However, the current significant deformation of the embossed silver elements may indicate the loss of this filling. The conservation treatment given to this piece was limited to the removal of the surface oxidation layer of the silver. Our observation of this group of pieces has made it possible to note similarities in the techniques used in the decoration of the oratory-reliquary, the pax and the missal lectern. The surface treatment given to the figures of the three pieces and the source of their inspiration are the same. The embossed figures have a decoration in which the folds of their garments were shown by a line engraved with the use of a technique similar to the one employed in the making of woodcuts. They were probably made by copying prints brought from Europe, which, in these particular examples, were faithfully transcribed to silver. The analysis of the decorative motifs showed that there are decorative shapes and features that are common to all three pieces: on the stand of the oratory-reliquary; the lid of the pax; and the background of the front of the central part and some of the friezes of the missal lectern. As has already been
26
mentioned, this decoration was produced with the use of chisels, punches and gravers with different tips. During the study of the three pieces and the conservation treatment that was given to them, several doubts were raised about the workshop and the town where they were made, which were further accentuated by the discovery of the Chinese characters inserted into the wooden structure of the oratory-reliquary.
Fig. 19 Missal Lectern. Detail of the reverse of the lectern
In an attempt not only to understand these pieces and answer some of the questions that were raised, but also to decide on a carefully planned conservation treatment, analyses were carried out at the Jos de Figueiredo Conservation and Restoration Laboratory. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) elemental analysis was made of the alloy used in one of the plaques from the inside of the left door of the oratory-reliquary, namely the one corresponding to the figure of St. Paul, and an alloy of silver and copper gilt was identified. Elemental analysis did not detect the presence of mercury, so that it may be inferred that the gold coating was not applied using the technique of mercury amalgam gilding. Observation of the gold leaf in the perforated areas on the back of the plaque led us to deduce that the gilding technique used was that of diffusion bonding (Oddy, s.d., pp. 1-21)74, which consists of directly applying gold to the silver and then gently heating it so
74
Oddy, s.d.
as to cause some interdiffusion of the gold and the silver. This gilding technique results in a less resistant film, which explains the reason why the partial gilding of the figures is so worn away. Elemental analysis of the figure of Christ and the decoration of the cross made it possible to identify an alloy of copper and nickel, covered with gold by mercury amalgam gilding. The polychromy of the various figures was identified using Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and micro-chemical analysis. We identified the following pigments: lead white and vermilion in the carnation; azurite and lead white in the white of the Virgins veil; lead white, ochre and animal black in the black of the Virgins shoe. All of these pigments were oilagglutinated. In the figure of Christ, oil-agglutinated lead white was identified in the white of the loin cloth. The filling mass used on the back of the figures and the dye of the velvet covering of the outside of the box were analysed using high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The filling mass is composed of a mixture of kaolin and resin, while the velvet dye is indigo. The study of the manufacturing techniques and the characterisation of the constituent materials is an ongoing project being undertaken at the Jos de Figueiredo Conservation and Restoration Laboratory. It has been completed with analyses performed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS) at the Hercules Laboratory of the University of vora. The alloys of each category of silver piece making up the oratory-reliquary, pax and missal lectern were also characterised. Due to the size of the specimen holder of the electron microscope, the analysis was performed directly on the pieces themselves. In the case of the oratory-reliquary, SEM analyses were made of both the silver and silver gilt of the plaque at the base of the inside of the box. The results showed that the silver is an alloy of Ag:Cu and that the gilded area is an alloy of Au:Ag:Cu, thus confirming that the technique used was not mercury amalgam gilding. On the frame of the painting on copper applied to the outside of the left side of the box, an alloy of Ag:Cu was identified. In the decorative elements on the top of the box, the analysis of the acanthus leaves showed an alloy of Ag:Cu, while the front of the frame has an Ag:Ni alloy and the reverse of the frame lid an alloy of Ag:Cu. The alloy of one of the reliquaries was identified as Ag:Ni. Thus, it can be inferred that 27
the frame and one of the boxes were made of a different alloy from the other elements, suggesting the hypothesis of a later intervention. The base of the cross inserted inside the box is made of an Ag:Cu alloy. The elemental analysis carried out on the figure of Christ detected an Au, Cu, Ni and Hg alloy, which allows us to extrapolate that the figure of Christ was made of a Cu:Ni alloy, onto which a coating of gold was applied using mercury amalgam gilding. Analyses are planned to be undertaken on the pax in order to identify the pigments and agglutinants of the existing traces of polychromy of the paper and resin of the inside of the columns, as well as to characterise the metal alloy and the corrosion products. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the layer of corrosion products of the silver surface of some elements made it possible to identify a black layer of acanthite (Ag2S) and chlorargyrite (AgCl), with the presence of quartz, calcite and aluminosilicates also having been detected, caused by pollution from airborne particles. The systematisation of the results of elemental quantification made by using SEM-EDS at various points on the surface of the silver alloy of the pax allows us to state that the composition of the silver figure of Christ the Redeemer and the lid is an alloy of Ag:Cu, with Ni also having been detected at some points, an element that in nature is often associated with Cu. In the gilded areas, the elements detected were Au, Ag, Cu and Ni, thus confirming that the gilding technique that was used was not mercury amalgam gilding. The filigree was made with an alloy of Ag:Cu, as was the structural framework. The analysis made of the bottom of one of the reliquaries enabled us to identify an Ag:Cu alloy. In the case of the missal lectern, the analyses being undertaken for the characterisation of its silver are still ongoing. So far only the silver of the left foot of the lectern has been characterised using SEM-EDS. CONCLUSIONS The study that has been made of the oratory-reliquary, the pax and the missal lectern has confirmed that the three pieces had a common decorative grammar, reflecting that they all had the same origin, namely the Orient. However, the characterisation of the silver alloys of the pieces showed differences in composition both between the pieces themselves and between elements of the same piece. 28
The production techniques used in the manufacture of these pieces hammering and embossing as well as the decorative techniques used punching, chiselling and engraving are the same, except in the case of the filigree of the pax. Gilding and polychromy were the techniques partly used for coating the surface of some elements of the oratory-reliquary and pax. As we have already mentioned, the degradation that was observed resulted from the formation of corrosion products induced by the environment. This was the main factor affecting the choice of the methodology used in the conservation intervention. The removal of these products which had altered the silver brought stability to the pieces and gave new visibility to the remarkable artistic richness of the decoration. Notwithstanding the results achieved so far, it is predictable that the ongoing material and technical study will bring new data that will certainly contribute to a different understanding of the materiality of these three pieces from the Vidigueira Treasure, one of the most important references in the silverware collection of the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga.
SOURCES
Arquivo Geral das ndias (AGI), Audincia das Filipinas. Sevilla. Archivum Romanum Societ Iesu (ARSI), Lusitnia. Rome. Biblioteca da Ajuda. Documentos Avulsos. Lisbon.
BOURDON, Leon, 1993. La Compagnie de Jsus et le Japon (1547-1570). Paris: Fundao Calouste Gulbenkian; CNCDP. BOXER, Charles, 1958. The Manila Galleon: 1565-1815. The Lure of Silk and Silver, in History Today. August, pp. 539-547. _____, 1989. O Grande Navio de Amacau. 4th edition. Macao: Fundao Oriente/Museu e Centro de Estudos Martimos de Macau. _____, 1990. Fidalgos no Extremo Oriente. Factos e Lendas de Macau Antigo. Lisbon: Fundao Oriente; Museu e Centro de Estudos Martimos de Macau.
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_____, 1993. The Christian Century in Japan. 3rd edition. Manchester: Carcanet. CAETANO, Jos A. Palma, 1986. Vidigueira e o seu Concelho. Vidigueira: Cmara Municipal de Vidigueira. CHAUDURI , Kirti, 1998. O Imprio na Economia Mundial, in Histria da Expanso Portuguesa. Vol. 2: Do ndico ao Atlntico (1570-1697). Francisco Bethencourt and Kirti Chauduri, dir. Lisbon: Crculo de Leitores, pp. 248-270. CHAUNU, Pierre, 1960-1966. Les Philippines et le Pacifique des Ibriques (XVI, XVII, XVIII sicles). Introduction Mthodologique et Indices dActivit. II Vols. Paris: cole Pratique des Hautes tudes. Contas dos Objectos Preciosos de Ouro, Prata e Jias que Pertenceram aos Conventos Suprimidos do Continente do Reino, 1842. Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional. CORREIA, Pedro Lage, 2008. A Concepo de Missionao na Apologia de Valignano. Estudo sobre a Presena Jesuta e Franciscana no Japo (1587 - 1597). Lisbon: Centro Cientfico e Cultural de Macau; Ministrio da Cincia, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior. CORSI, Elisabetta, coord., 2008. rdenes Religiosas entre Amrica y Asia. Ideas para una Historia Misionera de los Espacios Coloniales. Mexico: El Colgio de Mxico. COSTA, Joo Paulo Oliveira e, 1995. A Descoberta da Civilizao Japonesa pelos Portugueses. Lisbon: Instituto Cultural de Macau; Instituto de Histria de Alm-Mar. _____, 1999. O Japo e o Cristianismo no Sculo XVI. Ensaios de Histria Luso-Nipnica. Lisbon: Sociedade Histrica da Independncia de Portugal. _____, 2000. A Dispora Missionria, in Histria Religiosa de Portugal. Carlos Moreira Azevedo, dir. II Vol: Humanismos e Reformas. Lisbon: Crculo de Leitores.
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COUTO, Joo, 1938. Alguns Subsdios para o Estudo Tcnico das Peas de Ourivesaria no Estilo Denominado Indo-Portugus. Trs Peas de Prata que Pertenceram ao Convento do Carmo da Vidigueira in Actas do I Congresso da Histria da Expanso Portuguesa no Mundo. 2nd Section. Lisbon. CUMMINS, J. S., 1978. Two Missionary Methods in China: Mendicants and Jesuits, in Archivo Ibero-Americano. Revista Trimestral de Estdios Historicos Publicada por los Padres Franciscanos. Second Season, Year XXXVIII, Volume XXXVIII. Madrid. January-December, pp. 33-108. CURVELO, Alexandra, 2008. Do Trato do Japo in Depois dos Brbaros. Arte Namban para os Mercados Japons, Portugus e Holands. Lisbon; London: Jorge Welsh Books Publishers and Booksellers, pp. 30-41. _____, 2009. Os Portugueses na sia dos Sculos XVI-XVII: Dinmicas Econmicas e Sociais e Vivncias Artsticas e Culturais/ The Portuguese in Asia During the 16th and 17th Centuries: Economical and Social Dinamics, Artistic and Cultural Experiences, in Biombos Namban/ Namban Screens. Lisbon: IMC/ Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, pp. 18-42. ELUERE, C., 1993. Outils et Ateliers dOrfvres des Temps Anciens. Saint-Germain-enLaye: Socit des Amis du Muse des Antiquits Nationales. FLORES, Jorge, 1998. Zonas de Influncia e de Rejeio, in Histria dos Portugueses no Extremo Oriente. Vol. 1, T. I: Em Torno de Macau. A. H. de Oliveira Marques, dir. Lisbon: Fundao Oriente, pp. 135-178. FREITAS, Eugnio de Cunha e, 1995. Histria da Santa Casa da Misericrdia do Porto. vol. III. Porto. FRIS, Lus de, 1993. Tratado dos Embaixadores Japes. Rui Loureiro, introduction, notes, selection and modernisation of texts. Lisbon: Working group of the Ministry of Education of Education for the Commemoration of the Portuguese Discoveries. _____, 1997. Segunda Parte das Cartas de Japo que Escreuero os Padres, & Irmos da Companhia de Jesus, facsimile ed. of the edition of vora, 1598. Maia: Castoliva editora, Lda. GIRARD, Pascal, 1999. Os Religiosos Ocidentais na China na poca Moderna. Macao: CNCDP; Fundao Macau; Instituto Politcnico de Macau. HUISKAMP, Harrie, 1994. A Genealogy of Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions: Schematic Outline, Illustrating the Development of the Catholic Church in Territories Assigned to Portugal by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. Kampen: Kok.
KUWAYAMA, George, 1997. Chinese Ceramics in Colonial Mexico. (s. l.): Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of Hawaii Press. LACH, Donald; KLEY, J. van, 1993. Asia in the Making of Europe. Vol. III: A Century of Advance; Book One: Trade, Missions, Literature. Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press. LEITO, Ana Maria Ramalho Proserpio, 1994. Do Trato Portugus no Japo Presenas que se Cruzam (1543-1639). Masters Degree Dissertation in History of the Discoveries and Portuguese Expansion. Lisbon: Faculdade de Letras da Universidade Clssica de Lisboa. [Photocopied text] LOBATO, Manuel, 2000. Malaca, in Histria dos Portugueses no Extremo Oriente. A. H. de Oliveira Marques, dir. Vol. 1, T. II: De Macau Periferia. Lisbon: Fundao Oriente, pp. 11-74. LOMBARD, Denys, 1998. A Eursia nas Vsperas do Momento Portugus, in Histria dos Portugueses no Extremo Oriente. Vol. 1, T. I: Em torno de Macau. A. H. de Oliveira Marques, dir. Lisbon: Fundao Oriente, pp. 123-133. LOPES, Flix, 1962. Os Franciscanos no Oriente Portugus de 1584 a 1590, in Studia. Lisbon. No. 9, pp. 29-142. LORENTE RODRIGEZ, Luis Maria, 1944. El Galen de Manila, in Revista de Indias. Madrid: Instituto Gonzalo Fernndez de Oviedo. Antonio Ballesteros Bereta, dir. Year V, January-March. No. 15, pp. 105-120. LOUREIRO, Rui, int. and ed., 1997. Gaspar da Cruz, Tratado das Coisas da China. Lisbon: Cotovia; CNCDP. _____, 2009. Gaspar da Cruz, Primeiro Sinlogo Europeu, in Nas Partes da China. Colectnea de Estudos Dispersos. Lisbon: Centro Cientfico e Cultural de Macau, I. P., pp. 113128. LOURIDO, Rui dvila, 1995. A Rota Martima da Seda e da Prata: Macau-Manila, das Origens a 1640. Masters Degree Dissertation in History of the Discoveries and Portuguese Expansion. Lisbon: Faculdade de Cincias Sociais e Humanas/ Universidade Nova de Lisboa. [Photocopied text] MARYON, H., 1971. Metalwork and Enamelling: a Practical Treatise on Gold and Silversmiths Work and their Allied Crafts [5th edition]. New York: Dover Publications. MATHEW, K. S., 1997. Indo-Portuguese Trade and the Fggers of Germany. Sixteenth Century. New Delhi: Replika Press Put. Ltd.
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NEPOTE, Jacques, 2000. Indochina, in Histria dos Portugueses no Extremo Oriente. A. H. de Oliveira Marques, dir. Vol.1, T.II: De Macau Periferia. Lisbon: Fundao Oriente, pp. 127-147. ODDY, A., (s/d). History of Gilding with Particular Reference to Statuary, in T. Drayman-Weisser, Gilded Metals: History, Technology and Conservation, scientific coordination. London: Ed. Archetype Publications, pp. 1-21. OLIVEIRA, Francisco Manuel de Paula Nogueira Roque de, 2003. A Construo do Conhecimento Europeu sobre a China c. 1500 - c. 1600. Thesis presented to the Geography Department of the Universitat Autnoma of Barcelona to obtain a Ph.D. in Human Geography. [Photocopied text] OREY, Leonor d, 1996. Os Tesouros Indianos do Convento do Carmo da Vidigueira e da Graa de Lisboa, in Nuno Vassalo e Silva, scientific coordination, A Herana de Rauluchantim. Lisbon: Museu de So Roque; CNCDP, pp. 157-169. PACHECO, Diego, 1989. A Fundao do Porto de Nagasaqui e a sua Cedncia Companhia de Jesus. Macao: Centro de Estudos Martimos de Macau. PARKER, Geoffrey, 2006. La Crisis Mundial del Siglo XVII: Acontecimientos y Paradigmas, in La Crisis de la Monarqua de Felipe IV. Geoffrey Parker, coord. Barcelona: Editorial Crtica, pp. 19-53. (Col. Libros de Historia). PIRES, Benjamim Videira, SJ, 1987. A Viagem de Comrcio Macau-Manila nos Sculos XVI a XIX. 2nd edition. Macao: Centro de Estudos Martimos de Macau. PTAK, Roderick, 1994. Sino-Japanese Maritime Trade, circa 1550: Merchants, Ports and Networks, in O Sculo Cristo do Japo. Actas do Colquio Internacional Comemorativo dos 450 Anos de Amizade de Portugal-Japo (1543-1993). Roberto Carneiro and A. Teodoro de Matos, dir. of the edition. Lisbon: Centro de Estudos dos Povos e Culturas de Expresso Portuguesa da Universidade Catlica Portuguesa Instituto de Alm-Mar, pp. 281-311. RUBIS, Joan-Pau, 2004. The Spanish Contribution to the Ethnology of Asia in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, in Asian Travel in the Renaissance, Daniel Carey, ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 93-123. S, Frei Manuel de, 1721. Memrias Histricas da Ordem do Carmo da Provncia de Portugal. Volume II, part IV, chapter VI, Lisbon. SAN FRANCISCO, Diogo de, 1625. Relacion Verdadera, y Breve de la Persecvcion, y Martirios que Padecieron por la Confession de Nuestra Santa Fee Catholica en Japon, Quinze
Religiosos de la Provincia S. Gregorio, de los Desclaos del Orden de Nestro Seraphico P. S. Francisco de las Islas Filipinas. SANDE, S.I., Duarte de, 2009. Dilogo sobre a Misso dos Embaixadores Japoneses Cria Romana. Amrico da Costa Ramalho, comment, preface and translation; Sebastio Tavares de Pinho, establishment of the Latin text. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra. Centro Cientfico Cultural de Macau. SANTANA, Frei Joseph de, 1751. Chronica dos Carmelitas da Antiga, e Regular Observncia Nos Reynos de Portugal, Algarves, e seus Domnios. Da Fundao, e de tudo o mais, que pertence ao nosso Convento da villa da Vidigueira. SCHURTZ, William Lytle, 1992. El Galleon de Manila. Leoncio Cabrera (Prlogo). Madrid: Instituto de Cooperacin Iberoamericana; Ediciones de Cultura Hispnica. SILVA, Nuno Vassalo e, 2008. A Ourivesaria entre Portugal e a ndia, do Sculo XVI ao Sculo XVIII. Lisbon: Santtander Totta. STANDAER T, Nicolas, 2001. Handbook of Christianity in China. Volume One: 635-1800. Leiden: Brill. SUBRAHMANYAM, Sanjay, 1995. O Imprio Asitico Portugus, 1500-1700. Uma Histria Poltica e Econmica. Lisbon: Difel. (Col. Memria e Sociedade). TEIXEIRA, Manuel, 1978. Os Franciscanos em Macau, in Archivo Ibero-Americano. Revista Trimestral de Estudios Historicos Publicada por los Padres Franciscanos. Second Season, Year XXXVIII, Volume XXXVIII. Madrid. January-December, pp. 309-375. THOMAZ, Lus Filipe, 1994. De Ceuta a Timor. Lisbon: Difel (Memria e Sociedade). _____, 1998. Introduo, in Histria dos Portugueses no Extremo Oriente. Vol. 1, T. 1: Em Torno de Macau. A. H. de Oliveira Marques, dir. Lisbon: Fundao Oriente, pp. 15121. UGAGLIA, E.; FANTUZZO, F.; ROQUES, D., 2002. LOr de Tolosa. Toulouse: Muse Saint-Raymond; Muse des Antiques de Toulouse; Odysse. VALLADARES, Rafael, 2001a. Castilla y Portugal en Asia (1580-1640). Declive Imperial y Adaptacin. Leuven: Leuven University Press. (Avisos de Flandes, 7). _____, 2001b. Olivares y Oriente: la Unin de Armas en Asia (1622-1642), in Imperios y Naciones en el Pacfico. Vol. I: La Formacin de Una Colonia: Filipinas. Madrid: Asociacin Espaola de Estudios del Pacfico; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas, pp. 73-80.
31
EXHIBITION CURATORSHIP Luisa Penalva CONSERVATION Belmira Maduro INSTALLATION Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga DESIGN FBA. CATALOGUE EDITOR Ana de Castro Henriques TECHNICAL SUPPORT Ana Filipa Sousa TEXTS Alexandra Curvelo (Conservadora do Museu Nacional do Azulejo. Professora Auxiliar convidada do Departamento de Histria da Arte da FCSH/UNL. Investigadora integrada do Centro de Histria de Alm-Mar (CHAM), FCSH/UNL Antnio Jos Candeias (Laboratrio de Conservao e Restauro Jos de Figueiredo, IMC. Centro HERCULES, Universidade de vora) Belmira Maduro (Departamento de Conservao e Restauro, IMC) Luisa Penalva (Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga) Pedro Lage Reis Correia (Investigador/Bolseiro CCCM/FCT) TRANSLATION Fernanda Bento TRANSLATION REVISED BY John Elliott
PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS MNAA Luisa Penalva: figs. 2, 4, 5, 7. IMC/LCRJF Belmira Maduro: cat. 1; figs. 8-16; Snia Costa: cats. 2, 3; figs. 1, 3, 6, 17-19. DESIGN FBA. ISBN 978-972-776-435-8 LEGAL DEPOSIT 333564/11 SPONSORS:
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga Rua das Janelas Verdes, 1249-017 Lisbon Phone +351 21 391 28 00, Fax +351 21 397 37 03 mnarteantiga@imc-ip.pt, http://mnaa.imc-ip.pt http://www.facebook.com/mnaa.lisboa
Copyright 2011 MNAA IMC. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form without the written permission from the publisher.

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VOYAGES

The Vidigueira Treasure

21st September 27th November 2011

THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE PROJECT

ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE

- ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE -

- ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE -

- ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE -

- ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE -

- ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE -

- ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE -

1751, quoted by Orey, 1996, pp. 157-169.

- ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE -

Fig. 1 Pax. Detail (Christ the Redeemer)

Fig. 2 Oratory-Reliquary. Detail of the base

Fig. 3 Missal Lectern. Detail of the background

Fig. 4 Pax. Detail of the reverse

- ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE -

Fig. 5 Oratory-Reliquary. Detail of the plaque (Virgin)

Fig. 6 Missal Lectern. Detail (St. Paul)

- ANDR COUTINHO AND THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE -

Fig. 7 Oratory-Reliquary. Reverse of one of the shrines Kanji character

Nacional de Madrid, Inv. R/33166.

JESUITS AND MENDICANTS IN EAST ASIA. SOME CONSIDERATIONS

- JESUITS AND MENDICANTS IN EAST ASIA. SOME CONSIDERATIONS -

Loureiro, 1997; Idem, 2009. 66 Barreto, 2006.

- JESUITS AND MENDICANTS IN EAST ASIA. SOME CONSIDERATIONS -

See Rubis, 2004; Girard, 1999.

See Lopes, 1962; Teixeira, 1978; Cummins, 1978.

THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE. CONSERVATION INTERVENTION AND STUDY

Orey, 1996. Idem.

- THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE. CONSERVATION INVERVENTION AND STUDY -

Fig. 9 Oratory-Reliquary. Base of the box

Fig. 8 Oratory-Reliquary. Interior of the box

- THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE. CONSERVATION INVERVENTION AND STUDY -

Fig. 10 Oratory-Reliquary. Detail of the engraved decoration

Fig. 11 Oratory-Reliquary. Reverse of a plaque

Fig. 12 Oratory-Reliquary. Plaque that covers the base of gilded wood

- THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE. CONSERVATION INVERVENTION AND STUDY -

Fig. 14 Pax. Interior of the reverse

Fig. 15 Pax. Detail of the handle

Fig. 13 Missal Lectern. Detail of the reverse of the lectern

- THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE. CONSERVATION INVERVENTION AND STUDY -

Fig. 16 Pax. Detail of the polychrome

Fig. 17 Missal Lectern. Detail of a gap in the silver

- THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE. CONSERVATION INVERVENTION AND STUDY -

Fig. 18 Missal Lectern. Detail of the apron

- THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE. CONSERVATION INVERVENTION AND STUDY -

Fig. 19 Missal Lectern. Detail of the reverse of the lectern

- THE VIDIGUEIRA TREASURE. CONSERVATION INVERVENTION AND STUDY -

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