Paper short abstract:

Kongolese Christian objects made between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries reflected the simultaneous, lateral nature of Kongolese Christianities and their position within global political, economic and religious networks.

Paper long abstract:

Portuguese missionaries arrived in the Kingdom of Kongo in the late fifteenth century, resulting in the voluntary conversion of the king and his domain soon thereafter. But what was the relationship between the kingdom's new and old faiths, and how did Christian objects reflect this? This paper investigates Christian objects' multiple forms and functions in the Kingdom of Kongo, including sculptures, crucifixes, vestments, and medallions. New research on Kongolese crucifixes in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents a case study for examining the roles of Christian objects in the kingdom, the routes they travelled, and the significance of their later European circulation.

At least a dozen different European missions and Kongolese Christian assemblies used imported and locally made objects to spread their version of the faith along regional trade and missionizing routes. Through the mid-nineteenth century, these simultaneous Christianities connected with the larger Christian world via long-distance trade routes to Brazil, Angola and Europe and through political and religious ties to Portugal and the Roman Papacy. The movement of people, objects and teachings through cities and rural regions resulted in varied doctrinal adherence and religious blending, as well as conflict between foreign missionaries, Kongolese Christians and indigenous religious practitioners. Kongolese Christian objects were equally diverse, reflecting a range of African and European visual vocabularies. Expressive of personal and public devotion, as well as political allegiance or individual status, these objects reflected the simultaneous, lateral nature of Kongolese Christianities and their position within global political, economic and religious networks.