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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a Carol Lavin Bernick Faculty grant from the Provost’s Office at Tulane University and a Center for Renaissance Studies Newberry Library Consortium grant. Like the objects it considers, this essay is the result of transoceanic travel, exchange and collaboration. My utmost thanks to Aaron Hyman, Ricky Trota Jose, Julie Lauffenburger, Dana Leibsohn and Nancy Um for help in looking, questioning and writing.
Biographical note
Stephanie Porras is Associate Professor of Art History at Tulane University. She is the author of Pieter Bruegel’s Historical Imagination (2016) and Courts, Commerce and Devotion: Art of the Northern Renaissance (2018). Her current book project, ‘The First Viral Images: Maerten de Vos, Antwerp print and the early modern globe,’ considers the global circulation of a single painting, engraving and illustrated book in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from Antwerp to Mexico City and Manila. Her research for this project has thus far been supported by Tulane University, Renaissance Society of America, and fellowships at the New York Public Library, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the National Gallery of Art’s Center for Advanced Study of the Visual Arts.
Notes
1 ‘Primeramente un caxonçillos donde van quarto figuras de Crucifixos de marfil
- el maior costo treinta y siete pessos
- el que le sigue costo treinta y cinco pessos
- el terzero costo treinta y dos pessos
- el quarto y mas pequeno costo dies y ocho pessos
- Item una figura de Nuestra señora q costo quarenta y quarto pessos
- Item una figura de Sn. Miguel costo quarenta y cinco pessos
- Item tres figuras de Sanct Josseph
- El uno costo treinta y tres pessos
- El otro costo veinte y siete pessos
- El otro costo veinte y cinco pessos
- Item una figura de So. Diego que costso veinte ps.
- Item una figura de So. Pedro costo veinte y cinco ps.’
2 ‘ … y lo que mas me a admirado es que con no haver quando yo aqui llegue Hombre dellos que supiese Pintar cosa que algo fuese se an perfiçinado tanto En este arte que ansy en lo de Pinzel como de bulto an sacado maravillosas Pieças y algunos nyños Jesús que yo e visto Yn marfil me pareçe que no se Puede hazer cosa mas Perfecta y ansy lo afirman todos los que los am bisto. Bense Proveyendo las yglesias de las ymagines q estos hazen de q antes havia mucha falta y segun la avilidad que muestran en retrartar y las ymagines q bienen de Spaña entiendo que antes de mucho no nos haran falta las que se hazen en flandes … ,’ Domingo de Salazar (24 June 1590). Carta de Salazar sobre relación con China y sangleyes. Filipinas 74, N. 38, ff. 185r–86v (ES.41091.AGI/23.6.1077//FILIPINAS,74,N.38). Archivo General de Indias, Seville.
3 The Manila Dominican Francisco de Vargas shipped three ivory statues (a St Michael, St Francis and St Dominic) to Salamanca’s San Esteban in 1686: ‘Portes de unas ymágenes. Más de gasto 114 reales que pagó de los portes de tres ymágenes de marfil que están en poder del Rmo. P. Mo. Confesor de su Mag. D.fr. Pedro Matilla, que son un S. Miguel de vara de alto y los dos Patriarchas n.o. P.S. Francisco y Sto. Domingo de a dos tercias cada uno que remitió para este Convento desde Manila el P. fr. Franc.co de Vargas, hijo deste Convento’ (quoted in Jose and Villegas Citation2004, 115). On the three ivories, see Estella Marcos Citation1997, 27; Estella Citation1984, cat. 597, 631, 632.
4 This is not to slight the foundational work on identifying Hispano-Philippine sculptures and accounting for their stylistic features, but the unproblematized use of the term ‘hybrid,’ or analysis that stresses these sculptures’ similarity to Buddhist figures can be found in much of the art historical literature on these works, including Estella Marcos Citation1984, Sánchez Navarro de Pintado Citation1986, Trusted Citation2013a and Citation2013b, and Bailey Citation2013.
5 In this way, this essay can be related to a number of recent art historical volumes (Russo Citation2014; Kaufmann and North Citation2014; Dossin et al. Citation2015; Bleichmar and Martin Citation2015; Sloboda and Yonan Citation2019) that have brought together case studies on individual artists, objects, markets, courts and trade routes exemplifying early modern transcultural exchange, and the balance between global and local forces. Histories of material culture have also traced the migration of materials, object types, knowledge, techniques and styles; see Priyadarshini Citation2017, for example on porcelain, or the essays collected in Smith Citation2019.
6 English translation of Fernando Riquiel’s account in his 1565 Relación from Blair and Robinson Citation1908, 2:120–21.
7 On Mechelen’s status as an export center, for both sculpted single figures and relatively cheap waterverf paintings, see de Marchi and van Miegroet Citation2007.
8 To cite just one example, see the record of hundreds of prints (‘sesenta docenas de imagenes de devocion’ ‘quince docenas de papeles de devocion’) from the manifest for the San Buenaventura, sent to Tierra Firme in the viceroyalty of Peru in 1586. Contratacion, 1084, N.2, f. 62. Archivo General de Indias, Seville. First published in Quintana Echeverría Citation2000, 109.
9 ‘Los estampas recivi que son tan excelentes’ (4 August 1620). Letter to P. Alonso de Escobar de la Compañía de Jesús in Seville from Francisco Gutiérrez, Manila. 9/2667, Legajo 1, no. 36, f. 1v. Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid.
10 I have hypothesized elsewhere about why this image may have been so popular in colonial Latin America and the Philippines; see Porras Citation2016.
11 A candidate for the later possibility is an ivory statue of the archangel, referenced in a Jesuit letter of 1610; see note 20.
12 The sculpture is now in the Museo de Historia Mexicana in Monterrey (Estella Marcos Citation1997, no. 39), which has a large collection of ivories donated by private collectors. Little is known about the provenance of most of these objects.
13 Ruyven-Zeman and Leesberg Citation2004, cat. nos. 1083, 1085.
14 Similarly, Marjorie Trusted has shown how ivory triptychs of the Tota Pulchra and St Jerome, as well as ivory plaquettes like Christ as the Divine Pilot all reproduce printed exemplars. See Trusted Citation2009; Trusted Citation2013a and 2013b, cat. nos. 347 and 348. To Trusted’s identification of printed models for these works I would add the following sources for the St Jerome: Jan Sadeler after Gillis Mostaert, St Jerome, engraving ca. 1575–1590 (Hoop Scheffer Citation1980, no. 370) and Johan Sadeler after Maerten de Vos, St Jerome, engraving, ca. 1585/6 (Schuckman Citation1996, no. 1105). All three of these compositions were seemingly produced in considerable quantities, given the number of closely related surviving versions.
15 See the proximity of the surviving versions of the Tota Pulchra in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (99 to B-1864), one found in the shipwreck of the Santa Margarita (now owned by IOTA Partners) and a private collection in Mexico City; see also the close compositional relationship between the St Jerome from the Santa Margarita (now owned by IOTA Partners), and two polychromed versions reproduced in Sánchez Navarro de Pintado Citation1986, figure 88; as well as the versions of Christ as the Divine Pilot held by the Victoria and Albert Museum (267-1879), the British Museum (1959,0721.1) the Museo de Historia Mexicana, Monterrey, a Mexican private collection (reproduced in Sánchez Navarro de Pintado Citation1986, figure 87) and another version formerly in a Madrid private collection.
16 ‘They also made images of crucifixes, chairs very curious in our own way […] one of the Chinese that has been among us for more than a year, and returned to their land, gave these people the news that they could contract all the things that would, and to understand it, they made the trip, and they arrived with the aforementioned boats (Asimismo traxeron Imágenes de Crucifixos, Sillas muy curiosas á nuestra modo. La causa desta venida demás de la ordinaria que ellos tienen fue uno de los Chinas que ha estado entre nosotros tiempo de mas de una año, y vuelto á su tierra dio noticia desta Población, y que en ella se podran contratár todas las cosas que tubiesen, y para entenderlo asi hiceron el viaje, y llegaron con los Navios ya referidos.’ Riquel 1574. Relación muy cierta y verdadera de lo que agora nuevamente se ha sabido de las nuebas Islas del Poniente […] colección Fernández de Navarrete. Nav. II, f. 247, dto. 7o, Madrid, Archivo del Museo Naval. As transcribed by Ruiz Gutiérrez Citation2016, 182, n.342.
17 Bailey (Citation2013) cites a 1561 letter from the Jesuit Luís Fróis in Goa to Gonzalo Vaz, describing a Chinese workshop where crucifixes were being made for export; see Ruiz de Medina Citation1995, 476–77.
18 Unfortunately, this portion of the letter has suffered some damage and loss, but reads in part: ‘ … una hermosissa imagen de talla de la Santissa Virgen, muchas de Chino crucifica [text lost]’ (24 May 1626). Letter from Gerónimo Pérez to Ignacio de Jual. 9/3717, no. 286, 2r. Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid.
19 ‘La devoción con la Sra. Virgen por occasion de ja ver se collocedo su Imagen en una Capilla desueno compuesta es la imagen de marfil hermosissima, El Ystilo muy rico y costoso … ’ (1633). Carta Anua de la Provincia de Philipinas de la Compaña de Iesus del año de 1633. Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu. Philippinas 7.1, f. 97. Vatican Film Library, St. Louis, Roll 163.
20 These two statues were likely purchased in 1610, as the carta anua for that year mentions the Colegio’s purchase of a Virgin and a St Michael. ‘Tiene tambien este Collegio avegargo un pueblo pequeno muy cercano a manila del la nacion Talaga los quales se doctrinan lo mas del ano en nra iglesia. Per estar cerca, y algunas veses en su propria iglesia la qual han hecho este ano de nuebo muy Buena y adelantandola con un San Miguel de bulto q es su vocacion y una Hermosa Imagen de Nra. Sa. y hecho para adorno de toda la iglessia de varios sedas y comprador un organo pa. celebrar sus fiestas’ (1610). Carta annua de la Provincia de Philippinas de la Compania de Jesus del Ano de 1610. 9/2667, Legajo 1, no. 14, f. 4r. Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid. This statue may be the impetus for the proliferation of ivory Saint Michael statues exported from Manila throughout the seventeenth century.
21 Although the few surviving Spanish archival sources referring to ivory carving uniformly describe these sculptors as sangley or Chinese, it is also possible Japanese and other ethnic populations were responsible for ivory carving in Manila. This possibility has been raised but ultimately dismissed due to the lack of comparable contemporary Japanese figural carving; see Jose and Villegas Citation2004, 57. The Japanese population of Manila was around 3000 in 1624, though mostly concentrated in the Dilao district; see Reed Citation1978, 52.
22 See the foundational work on the agency of early modern trading diasporas of Sephardic Jewish, Armenian and Mocha commercial networks, respectively, in Trivellato Citation2009, Aslanian Citation2011, and Um Citation2017.
23 1606. Carta de Díaz Guiral sobre sangleys, hospitals (27 May 1606). Filipinas 19, R. 7. N. 105. Archivo General de Indias, Seville. First published in Ollé Citation2008, 74.
24 ‘ … como de carpinteros y lanteros y todos los demas que son nesesarios en una RePublica Los usan los sangleeys infieles y son muy pocos o ningunos. Los Espanoles que exersen los dichos ofizios ni tartan de ello solo de tener algunas tiendas dentro de la ciudad en que vender algunas cossas de Castilla y que estan desta fuerte El trato y comercio desta ciudad es Imposible’ (1620). Pleytos de Manila. La ciudad de Manila de las Islas philipinas con El fiscal de su Magd. de las Juron del Parián. Escribania, 403b, legajo 10, N 14, ff.100v–1r. Archivo General de Indias, Seville.
25 ‘ … con sus oficios y siendo esto tan en servicio de Dios nuestro sr. y de su Magd y biengen de toda esta republica contraviniendo a ello muy gran numero de los dichos sangleeys […] se han estado y estan y vuien con sus Tiendas de Mercaderes sabes capateros plateros bodegonos sombrereros y otros officious mecanicos … ’ (12 February 1632). Peticion de Manila sobre Parián de sangleys. Escribania, 403b, N.148, f. 889r. Archivo General de Indias, Seville.
26 See, for example, the conversions of Hyacinto, a silversmith, and two carpenters, Thomas and Raymundo, on 21 May 1626, or the conversion of Domingo the painter on 22 July 1627. Libro de Bautizos Siglo XVII 1626–1700, Sección de Parián, Roll 47, vol. 2. Archives of the University of Santo Tomás, Manila. The discovery of this baptismal record book was first published in Kueh Citation2014.
27 Dominic Crewe has described how during the course of the seventeenth century, the Dominicans of the Parián went from treating Sangleys outside Manila’s walls as a doctrina ripe for conversion, to a convivencia, a foreign community voluntarily resident in a land nominally ruled by a Christian king (Citation2015, 364).
28 On the presence of European stylistic elements in Qing court painting, especially thanks to the pioneering work of Sullivan (Citation1973, 66–86), and more recently summarized in Cheng-Hua Citation2014.
29 Julie Lauffenburger of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, is currently conducting a study of the pigments and techniques of polychromy and gilding on these statues, tracing their use of pigments and comparing them to European, Asian and American ornamental motifs. Previously there has only been a single study of the polychromy and gilding of a single ivory in Granada; see Rozalen and Ruiz Gutiérrez Citation2015.
30 The sample extracted from the Walters St Michael was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in transmitted mode following compression in a diamond cell at 256 scans with 4 wavenumber resolution; a very good match to urushi was achieved using the IRUG database (InfraRed Users Group standard INR00230). My thanks to Julie Lauffenburger for sharing these results with me.
31 See, for example, Marjorie Trusted’s description of a piece with a ‘distinctive hybrid style of West and East’ (Citation2013a, 458). Scholars also often stress the connection between figures of the Virgin and the Buddhist bodhisattva Guanyin (see Sánchez Navarro de Pintado Citation1986, 98), or identify iconographic links to other Buddhist iconography, as in Bailey Citation2013.
32 Indeed in a recent catalogue, Alan Chong (Citation2016) cautioned art historians to acknowledge precisely what we don’t know about these ivories.
33 See the references to the ivory goods (marfiles) sent as gifts by the kingdoms of Siam and Cambodia to Manila (Morga Citation1609, 18, 102).
34 Thanks to Sarah Guérin for her help with this. On distinctions between ivory derived from Asian and African elephants, see Cutler Citation1985, 27–29.
35 On the links between East Africa, Indian and Portuguese merchants, see Pearson Citation1998; Machado Citation2014.
36 Shipping records tend to record the total weight of ivory shipped, so it is difficult to reconstruct the price of a single tusk. On the total value of the carreira trade in the early seventeenth century, see Boyajian Citation1993.
37 On Manila and Macao’s trade, see Flynn and Giráldez Citation1995.
38 In Ceylon (Sri Lanka), skilled carvers also produced opulently decorated ivory caskets, plaquettes and fans, as well as some smaller figural carvings, which were all exported to Europe via Portuguese ships from the mid-sixteenth century.
39 Similar incised decoration can be found on figures of St Michael the Archangel now in the Convento San Esteban, Salamanca, and the Monasterio de Carmelitas Descalzas, Vélez-Málaga, both of which may originate in the same workshop as the Monterrey sculpture.
40 Further research is needed into the Acapulco sales of ivory, as well as documenting the owners and sellers of Asian ivories in New Spain, Peru and Spain. Questions for future research include the possibility of resale markets for ivories, the relation between the ivory market in comparison to other imported Asian goods, as well as other art objects.
41 See for example the letters of 21 June 1624, 11 February 1636, and 1 October 1645 which all request Crown funds for Manila churches and specifically request ‘vino y aceite.’ Cedularios, a. 1573–1749 (1624, 1636, 1645). RG I S.01 General Administration, 7, 3.A.1, folder 2, f. 11; folder 2, f. 125; folder 3, f. 35. Archives of the Archdiocese of Manila, Manila.
42 See Alcalá (Citation1998, 126–71) for a discussion of the complex role of the Jesuit procurator, sent to Europe every six years to buy goods for the mission, but who often also engaged in additional commercial activities.
43 ‘Segunda parte de las resoluciones de casos dadas en la conferencias de este colegio de la Compañía de Jésus de manila por el padre Diego de Bobadilla, Provincial que fué de esta provincial’ (October 1630). Casos resueltos en esto colegio de Manila en las conferencias ordinarias desde el mes de octubre de 1630. Archivum Provinciae Tarraconensis Societatis Iesu. No pressmark. San Cugat del Vallés, Barcelona. Partially transcribed in Cushner Citation1967.
44 At five times the earlier limit, Bobadilla’s 1000 peso value limit was now comparable to that of many licensed galleon merchants; see the compilation of Mexican merchants’ licenses to dispense silver to the Philippines, collected in Gasch-Thomas Citation2019, Appendix A, Table 12.
45 On planned future excavations, and photographs and details of past dives, I am indebted to Jack Harbeston, IOTA Partners; personal e-mail correspondence, 30 January 2018.
46 A possibility also raised by Ruiz Gutiérrez Citation2016, 230.
47 As well as the illustrated large-scale, multi-part ivory sculptures of St Michael the archangel now held at the Museo Nacional del Virreinato, Tepotzotlán, there are also versions at the Museo de la Basilica de Guadalupe, three versions of the figure in the Museo de Historia Mexicana, Monterrey, and one held in a private collection in Mexico City. All are over 50 cm in height.
48 23 July 1767 inventory of Our Lady of Solitude in Antequerra, cited by Estella Marcos Citation1997, 9.
49 ‘Portes de unas ymágenes. Más de gasto 114 reales que pagó de los portes de tres ymágenes de marfil que están en poder del Rmo. P. Mo. Confesor de su Mag. D.fr. Pedro Matilla, que son un S. Miguel de vara de alto y los dos Patriarchas n.o. P.S. Francisco y Sto. Domingo de a dos tercias cada uno que remitió para este Convento desde Manila el P. fr. Franc.co de Vargas, hijo deste Convento’ (quoted in Jose and Villegas Citation2004, 115). On the three ivories, see Estella Marcos Citation1997, 27; Estella Citation1984, cat. 597, 631, 632
50 Estella Marcos Citation1984, cat. 594.
51 See the related study of the diplomatic agency of Sri Lankan ivory caskets in the Portuguese world in Biedermann Citation2018.
52 Here I follow Juneja (Citation2015), who has called for a shift from the identification of trade routes, material and iconographic sources for such transcultural objects, to the study of how these movements led to the creation of novel artistic forms and practices.