Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Livro da Nobreza e da Perfeição das Armas dos Reis Cristãos e Nobres Linhagens dos Reinos e Senhorios de Portugal (Book of Nobility and of the Perfection of the Coat of Arms of the Christian Kings and Noble Lineages of the Kingdoms and Landlords of Portugal)
António Godinho Portuguese
Not on view
The distinct character of the Kingdom of Kongo is especially well documented among African precolonial polities. Beginning with Afonso I (r. 1509–42), a coat of arms was adopted that would serve as its official symbol on regalia and correspondence from as early as 1580 to as late as 1859. Drafted by an unknown Portuguese artist, its imagery features references to Afonso’s miraculous triumph over rivals thanks to divine intervention, the Kongo state’s Christian character, and its friendship with Portugal. It remains the emblem of the city of Mbanza Kongo in present-day Angola.
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