Sapi-Portuguese Ivory Spoon

[2] During the 15th and 16th centuries, the time frame in which this piece was created, the Portuguese dominated global trade, with ports all over the world, including India, Brazil, and Sierra Leone.

[4] Ivory was a particularly valuable resource because the strong material was used to make durable everyday items like utensils.

Ivory was often associated with power, this could be because it came from elephants, one of the largest mammals on the planet and because of this it wasn’t an abundant resource.

Similar symmetrical design, facial features, clothing styles are often seen in other works from this time.

[6] Examples of these simulates would seen in be other ivory spoons[7] or lidded saltcellars[8][9] from the same time period and location.