Incense Boat
Portuguese Goldsmithery
Dated 1589
Silver in relief and engraved
15 cm (H) x 20 cm (L)
From the Parish Church of Câmara de Lobos, Madeira
MASF64


Of all the incense boats that can be dated between the end of the 16th century and the mid-17th century¹, an impressive number of which exist in the Diocese of Funchal, this is decidedly the one of greatest importance, as it bears the date 1589. This reference may help revise many of the dates on known incense boats from the Portuguese culture, scattered to the four corners of the World².
This piece is in the form of a Portuguese ship, used for carrying incense, which then spread by means of a censer. It is mounted on a circular base, which rises by means of two tiers, decorated with simple vegetal motifs. The cylindrical stem that makes the transition between the base and the incense boat as such is arranged in four rings that define three sections or fields, on the second of which there is a sparse engraved decoration of unopened archways. The receptacle, made in the form of a ship as such, has a smooth keel, with an engraved reproduction of the nails and boards typically used in the hulls of real ships, as well as the suggestion of other maritime implements, such as supports for the rigging. A decoration in two tiers makes the transition to the deck, with the markings of small scrolls suggesting waves of the sea.
In the area of the deck, the forecastle and quarterdeck stand out, both adorned with a veranda with open arches. The figurehead suggests the head of an animal.

¹ The piece was presented for the first time in Catálogo Ilustrado de Ourivesaria Sacra da Madeira, Luiz Peter Clode e Pe. Manuel Juvenal Pita Ferreira, ed. Junta Geral do Distrito Autónomo do Funchal, 1951, cat. 12, p. 2.
² Catálogo Encontro de Culturas, Oito séculos de Missionação Portuguesa, Coor. Natália Correia Guedes, Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora, Lisbon, 1994, pp. 163 e 1 65, cat.. XI. 136 e XI 133.