Afonso I of the Kongo to Manuel I of Portugal regarding the Burning of “The Great House of Idols”
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.While the priests who delivered the sacraments in the Kingdom of Kongo were for the most part European, education by Kongo schoolmasters disseminated Afonso’s interpretation of Christianity integrated with indigenous belief. Practices deemed antisocial, such as witchcraft, were persecuted, as evident in this letter that refers to the destruction of minkisi (power objects) of banganga (pre-Christian Kongo priests).
Artwork Details
- Title: Afonso I of the Kongo to Manuel I of Portugal regarding the Burning of “The Great House of Idols”
- Date: October 5, 1514
- Geography: Angola, Mbanza Kongo
- Culture: Kongo Kingdom
- Medium: Ink on paper, 10 folios
- Dimensions: 10 folios, H.15 3/8 in. (39cm) × W. 8 3/4 (22.3 cm) × D. 1/16 in. (0.2 cm)
- Classification: Documents
- Credit Line: Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing