Made by Migrants: Southeast Asian Ivories for Local and Global Markets, ca. 1590–1640

Abstract

Investigation of the early development of ivory carving and trade centered around colonial Manila from the late sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth centuries reveals that the production of ivories depicting Christian subjects in the Spanish Philippines was inextricably linked to three interlocking developments in Southeast Asia: maritime trade, migration, and competition. Ivory carvers in Southeast Asia supplied the quickly rising ivory market on a regional and transoceanic scale with visually impactful sculptures of Christian iconography, which claimed authoritative status as preferred religious objects in the colonial Spanish territories.