Unusual Indo-Portuguese Ivory Apothecary’s Mortar

Period: 1600-1700

Origin: Indo-Portuguese

Medium: Ivory

Literature: In a desire and aggressive drive to dominate the maritime trade in spices during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Portuguese created their ‘Estado da India’. Composed of fortresses, trading posts and strategic coastal cities, it stretched all the way from Mozambique to Macao. Their headquarters was established in Goa which remained in Portuguese hands until 1961. Although they never achieved a monopoly over the spice trade, they did dominate the field of luxury goods, instructing and employing local artists and craftsmen in the manufacture of objects and furniture from exotic materials, all of which would be profitably exported back to a Europe hungry for such treasures.