Between 1970 and 1974, José de Guimarães reinvented his drawing techniques, producing an alphabet that was influenced by the ideographic language associated to the tradition of pots in the territory of the former ancient kingdom of Ngoyo (XV-XIX), in the south of Cabinda, in northwest Angola. This language was not solely visual or decorative. It communicated different messages, sayings, meanings, ideas, carved on the lids of various household objects, such as pots and tureens, that are presented here in projected images.

José Guimarães’ African Alphabet is based on a process of “osmosis” between European and African art. It reinforces the importance of the symbol as a mediating element between art and all other dimensions of human existence, understanding its role in cultural transmission. The pot lids contain proverbs, fictions and reveal the tremendous metaphorical richness of the kingdom of Ngoyo.

This vocabulary is introduced in the room dedicated to the “origin” of José de Guimarães’ poetics, that highlights the relationship between European art and African sculpture, articulating fetishism, appropriation and poetic experimentation. It makes it possible to reconnect the museum’s collection with the active traditions of African territory. Projected in images, the reliefs of various African utensils haunt and illuminate José de Guimarães’ alphabet. Between 1970-74, José de Guimarães developed his systematic method of anthropological approach in Angola, focusing on the territory of the former Kingdom of Ngoyo, in the southern zone of the enclave of Cabinda (Angola). He was impressed by the communicative form of these peoples, expressed here through projected images from the collection of the National Museum of Ethnology (Lisbon) and the study by José Martins Vaz, Filosofia Tradicional dos Cabindas através dos seus testos de panela, provérbios, adivinhas e fábulas (The Traditional Philosophy of the Cabindas through their pots, proverbs, riddles and fables) (1970).

Objects of ritual, moral and family communication, these tools speak and tell stories. José de Guimarães found inspiration in the communicative power and effectiveness of this language to build his own artistic lexicon, which, has been a constant element throughout his career, although it has undergone several changes.