Indo-Portuguese Art

ABSTRACT: This study explores some features of violin playing in Joget which has been developed since the early 16th century on the Malay Peninsula. Approximately at the same time in Sri Lanka, Kaffirinna was initiated as an adaptation from Portuguese music imported through the colonial power. The violin is a prominent musical instrument used in Kaffirinna, too. This paper will examine violin playing techniques used in Joget and in Kaffirinna that will be analyzed through transcriptions of comparable elements. A concise literature review can help to support with information on the historical background and development of violin playing in both places. This study focuses on the analysis of idiosyncratic and mutual features found in both Joget and Kaffirinna violin playing styles. By doing so, this study may contribute to understanding the diversity as well as commonalities of Portuguese cultural traces across a wide area. In various ways, colonialism patterned the mobility of performing arts within Asia, especially among colonies that were ruled by the same power. The question to be answered is how similar sources of adaptations were realized in different colonies and how the derived music does sound today. Keywords: Kaffiringha, Joget, Portuguese Music, Violin playing, music migration

Estudo de uma crónica agostiniana da autoria de Fr. Diogo de Sant'Ana, bem como de outras fontes inéditas dedicadas ao Mosteiro de freiras agostinhas de Santa Mónica, em Goa, analisando-se a partir dessa base manuscrita as campanhas artísticas realizadas entre 1611 e 1639 nesse grande cenóbio da capital do Estado Português da Índia -- fundado pelo Arcebispo Primaz das Índias D. Frei Aleixo de Meneses, em 1606, e considerado o maior mosteiro de freiras no Oriente -- com ênfase no ciclo de pinturas murais que decoram o claustro, o antigo coro baixo e algumas capelas e altares, que formam um dos mais interessantes conjuntos artísticos indo-portugueses do século XVII subsistentes.

A dissertação analisa as relações entre política e religião na Índia Portuguesa (1606-1656), isto é, nas regiões da Índia colonizadas por Portugal, como Goa. Nesse contexto, o papel da Companhia de Jesus e do Santo Ofício de GOa (estabelecido em 1560) foi investigado, sobretudo a atuação do jesuíta Roberto de Nobili, o qual se vestia como um brâmane (asceta hindu), conhecia os textos religiosos e línguas locais para converter os indianos ao catolicismo, contudo, seu método de conversão suscitou controvérsias mesmo entre os jesuítas. Analisamos a arte ido-portuguesa e cíngalo-portuguesa que se desenvolveu no contexto da colonização portuguesa da Índia, quando os missionários propagavam o Evangelho na Ásia e os países católicos vivenciavam o Contra-Reforma. A arte indo-portuguesa, uma arte híbrida, evidencia o encontro de culturas: a cultura católica portuguesa e a cultura indiana, hindu ou budista.

Pepper from Cochin, cinnamon from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and cloves from the Moluccas were not the only treasures the Portuguese sought in Asia. Precious gems and jewellery captivated the minds of these adventurers from the moment they disembarked from their carracks. The «great Oriental adventure», whether undertaken by traders, merchants, priests, explorers or the military, was driven by the lure of Oriental luxury goods and by the 'love of money and a lust for gems', as Fernão Mendes Pinto so aptly underscored. A 'frantic thirst' for precious gems that fitted the voyager’s pocket, whether officer, expert or occasional trader, each one confident of lucrative returns from trafficking that fell outside the scope of the scope of the crown’s control. In contrast, the pepper trade was reserved as an exclusive royal monopoly.

Asian gems were soon accurately depicted in paintings by artists of the Lisbon court. Apart from territorial expansion and conquest, this Portuguese adventure was also one of missionary work, carried out far from Europe, and which required the creation of doctrinal instruments for religious instruction and new liturgical implements for the newly converted to marvel at. This «empire of objects», worked in silver and gold, emerged out of the confluence of many different artistic worlds, unknown to one another, which in Asia acquired its own particular features to produce variations on the European models brought by the nobility and the missionaries. This circulation of models extended from Hormuz to Goa and onwards to Malabar, from Cochin to Bengal along the Coromandel coast taking in the Taprobane (Ceylon) as well as out into the - fittingly coined - 'Mediterranean' of the China Sea, from the straits of Malacca to the seas of Java and into the rivers of Asia. A voyage of styles and forms that accompanied the growing geographic knowledge about Asia which was hitherto unknown to the Europeans.

Such is the current itinerary for our 'Jewels from the India Run', showcasing the treasures of this 'promised land', created from gems, gold and silver from an Asia transformed by the Portuguese, and featuring an impressive group of two hundred works of art, many never previously exhibited, exquisitely crafted in gold and silver, some studded with precious gems, and others embellished with vivid enamels. Rare and unique objects presented within the cultural context and historical framework of their artistic periods of creation. An awe-inspiring range of works that, just like Mendes Pinto, lead us to exclaim: 'that in all my days I have never seen such a wondrous thing.'

Pimenta de Cochim, canela do Ceilão ou cravinho das Molucas não foram os únicos tesouros cobiçados pelos Portugueses na Ásia. Gemas preciosas e jóias cativaram, desde logo, os primeiros aventureiros que desembarcaram das naus da Carreira da Índia. A "grande aventura" do Oriente, feita por comerciantes, sacerdotes, aventureiros e militares, foi alimentada pelo apelo das preciosidades orientais, “pelo amor do dinheiro e afeição da pedraria”, no dizer de Fernão Mendes Pinto. Essa “vã cobiça” que cabia num bolso de viajante, fosse agente, perito ou comerciante de ocasião, todos confiantes no retorno lucrativo de um tráfico não controlado pela coroa. Expansão e conquista territorial, esta aventura lusa foi também uma jornada missionária que, longe do reino, tornou necessária a criação de instrumentos de doutrina e novas alfaias para maravilhamento dos recém-convertidos. Esse "império de objectos" lavrados em prata e ouro nasceu da confluência artística de mundos diferentes, estranhos e afastados, cada qual imprimindo uma marca própria, tornando-se variação de modelos trazidos na bagagem de nobres e missionários. Circulação dos modelos que se faz de Ormuz a Goa, descendo pelo Malabar, de Cochim a Bengala pela costa do Coromandel, passando a Taprobana, mas também por esse “Mediterrâneo” do mar da China, desde os estreitos de Malaca aos mares de Java e que entra pelos rios da Ásia ao compasso das monções. Dá-se a conhecer nesta exposição um impressionante conjunto de várias dezenas de peças de ouro e prata, delicadamente trabalhadas e enriquecidas com preciosas gemas e esmaltes de cores vibrantes. Objectos preciosos que não surgem isolados, para serem fruídos apenas pelos seus méritos artísticos ou valor material, mas contextualizados e enquadrados nas dinâmicas dos tempos que os viram nascer. Um conjunto de obras que nos surpreende e que, como Mendes Pinto, nos levam a dizer: "que em meus dias nunca vi cousa tão maravilhosa."

The Northern Province was the first area of the Estado da Índia to have territorial dimension and depth. Until then, Portuguese sovereignty in the eastern sphere of its empire was limited to coastal possession – cities or forts – or little islands like Tiswadi. During the Northern Province’s timeline, from 1534 to 1739, its four urban settlements developed bulwarked walls, whose archaeological traces are mostly still well preserved. Beyond these towns, the territory was dotted with an extensive network of smaller defensive positions, varying considerably in size and shape. As a result of the colonial occupation and administration system, the territory’s first line of defence was a string of fortified manor houses, many of which mounted artillery on their walls. These were the country residencies of the Portuguese land and village owners.
Also as a consequence of the process of colonial occupation, a comprehensive network or religious structures emerged, mostly built by the religious orders, within which the Jesuits and the Franciscans clearly stand out. Many of these structures also had a defensive outlook or potential, and a handful was even fitted with bulwarks mounting cannons. Besides the private and religious structures, the Estado da Índia built many fortifications to protect smaller settlements and strategic locations like mountaintops and passages, river crossings and bends. Due not only to their numbers but also to their diversity  - both morphologically and tectonically  - and also their interdependence, this network of strong points, together with the militia model and the naval forces adopted to tender it, represents a territorial defensive system of outstanding interest, especially from the architectural, urban and landscape history perspective. This defensive system was put to the test repeatedly by an array of invasions and attacks, and its structures evolved according to the scale and nature of its enemies, hampered constantly by the limited resources and manpower of the Estado da Índia, notably after the loss of supremacy on the Arabian Sea.
Both as part of a network and individually, the devices of this defensive system have not been researched, with the exception of the aforementioned four urban settlements and they represent a fundamental topic not only in the history of the Northern Province but also of the whole Estado da Índia.

Keywords: Modern Age; India; Portugal; Forts; Architecture; Territory.

Estudo histórico, iconográfico e artístico do túmulo do capitão de Ormuz e Cochim, Jerónimo de Mascarenhas, peça de fim do século XVI que se encontra na igreja do Bom Jesus de Goa, templo que foi construído a suas expensas. Ensaio sobre as políticas de conversão dos gentios e das estratégias de convencimento através das imagens sacras no Estado Português da Índia durante o período dos Filipes. História e estudo do testamento de um convertido de Ormuz, o príncipe persa D. Afonso de Norandim, protegido de Matias de Albuquerque e de Jerónimo Mascarenhas, que viverá alguns anos junto aos frades agostinhos de Lisboa, no mosteiro de Nossa Senhora da Graça, casa onde faleceu em 1590. No testamento, deixa numerosos bens (têxteis indianos e chineses etc) para igrejas portuguesas.

The research investigates the compositional and proportional properties of Indo- Portuguese façades as
definitive of the style in Goa, with the historic precinct of São Tomé in Panaji chosen as the area of study.
The research is carried out through the listing and classification of façades into compositional types and the
analysis of composition and proportion of façades belonging to the same type. The façades in São Tomé are
found to display a mathematical order in their composition within and across compositional types. The system
of proportions found in the composition of façades, the Quadrature, is one found in Renaissance architecture,
implying that, the idea of the style was also adopted and absorbed at the level of facade composition and
proportion

The meeting of multiple cultures and their mutual influence during the Portuguese expansion in Asia led to the emergence of different types of fusion styles in objects commissioned by the settlers, merchants, and religious orders present in Portuguese India. The east-Asian lacquer coatings of modestly sized wooden objects of various types dating from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries have been analyzed as part of the research for a doctoral thesis that aims to establish their cultural and geographical attribution within the context of the Getty Conservation Institute’s lacquer research project. Among the objects were three seventeenth century lacquered trays from Portuguese museums and private collections that had previously been classified
as Japanese Nanban, Chinese or Ryukyuan lacquers or even as Indo-Portuguese artifacts. The materials and techniques that were identified show close similarities with Chinese techniques mentioned in historic accounts — the only existing Ming Chinese Treatise on lacquering Xiushi lu and the eighteenth-century memoirs of the Jesuit priest d’Incarville. These nearly 400-year-old artifacts are among the first lacquered objects commissioned by Europeans and probably the first of Chinese origin. Their detailed technical study contributes to international lacquer research and complements existing knowledge and perceptions of the lacquering processes that were applied in response to an early European demand for exotic items.

Envoys of A Human God offers a comprehensive study of the religious mission led by the Society of Jesus in Christian Ethiopia. The mission to Ethiopia was one of the most challenging undertakings carried out by the Catholic Church in early modern times. The book examines the period of early Portuguese contacts with the Ethiopian monarchy, the mission’s main developments and its aftermath, with the expulsion of the Jesuit missionaries. The study profits from both an intense reading of the historical record and the fruits of recent archaeological research. Long-held historiographical assumptions are challenged and the importance of cultural and socio-political factors in the attraction and ultimate estrangement between European Catholics and Ethiopian Christians is highlighted. The book will profit all interested in the European expansion, Jesuit missions, cross-cultural exchanges on the eve of globalisation as well as Ethiopian history.

Following the mysterious death in 1551 of Bhuvanekabāhu VII, a thorough inventory of the Ceylonese royal treasury was drafted by Simão Botelho for the Portuguese State of India (the Estado). Although published in full by Sousa Viterbo in 1904, it has received little attention from scholars. Published in its original sixteenth-century Portuguese language and teeming with long forgotten words and an exotic vocabulary of Asian origin, the inventory has remained almost unknown since it was first printed. Meticulously drafted, it contains the inventory of the monies, gold pieces, and jewels removed from the royal treasury and also the treasury of the private royal temple. The present chapter aims to provide the first systematic analysis of its invaluable art historical content.

Artigo, em colaboração com o conservador-restaurador Miguel Mateus, sobre uma importante tábua indo-portuguesa de princípio do século XVII existente no mosteiro de Santa Mónica em Goa (antigo Estado Português da Índia), analisando-se a sua História, técnica, estilo, escola, filiação autoral e fontes iconográficas seguidas. A composição inspira-se em duas estampas saídas no livro 'Evangelicae Historiae Imagines' (Antuérpia,1593) do padre jesuíta Jeronimo Nadal, também utilizadas noutras obras de arte, na Índia, na China e no Japão seiscentistas.

Esta comunicação sobre  pintura e propaganda imagética em Goa no tempo de D. Aleixo de Meneses (1595-1612) e sobre a decoração do Mosteiro de Santa Mónica e os seus artistas, designadamente o imaginário Babuxa, o arquitecto Júlio Simonis e o pintor Aleixo Godinho, foi apresentada na Academia das Ciências de Lisboa a 14 de Maio de 2009. As fontes bibliográficas essenciais e a documentação inédita em que assentam os dados desta comunicação saíram entretanto no artigo «Pintura e Devoção em Goa no Tempo dos Filipes: o Mosteiro de Santa Mónica no ‘Monte Santo’ (c. 1606-1639) e os seus artistas» («Painting and worship in Goa during the period of iberian union: the Santa Mónica monastery at ‘Monte Santo’ (c. 1606-1639) and its artists»), revista Oriente, nº 20, 2011, pp. 11-50.

The architectural composition of the altarpieces of Goa and the ones from the territories of the ancient North Province share proximity points but once going into the details one soon realizes we’re looking at two distinct artistic realities. Comprehending the singularities in each artistic scenario not only envisions us with the artisans/workshops areas of actuation but also approaches us to the definition of indo-portuguese retable art. The cultural and artistic interactions in inner and outer India have highly contributed to the specificity that characterizes the indoportuguese retable art. The altarpieces combined a set of functions in one single composition: serving the purposes of the Christian praise but also skilfully serving the purposes of teaching of the gospel to newly converts. The altarpieces, in the scenario of the quest for evangelization of the Indian subcontinent, began to acquire different forms, different artistic grammars and most of all, a spectacular inter-religiosity dialogue, for local long term generation artisans were now in the making of these altarpieces. The altarpiece is in this perspective the representative of faith through art, the book in images. The symbols are replaced, the forms are altered and the scales are enlarged. The (in) comprehension of the Christian symbols, the immersion into the Christian religious culture and the absorbing of religious values that in last analysis would provide the desired conversion would be given majestically without any adulteration in the quality of its making. It’s in this way that the economical and opportunist use of local workmanship provides to the indo-portuguese retable art an important contribution in the way that coats itself of qualities that differ, for example, from the altarpieces in other territories of Portuguese conquests. The local artisans are, for these reason highlighted: without even knowing this new religious language, but speaking fluently the artistic language, they were responsible of bringing to light what were to become unique forms of art.

Since archaeological interest in Old Goa developed, during the late 19th cent., various initiatives related to the conservation of its buildings and ruins have taken place. The most comprehensive and consequential initiative to date is the plan of 1959, drawn up by a group of Goan and Portuguese personalities led by Ismael Gracias and put fourth by the last colonial governor, Vassalo e Silva.

Although only partially carried out, many of the issues that the 1959 plan addressed remain pertinent, given the renewed and continued interest in Old Goa’s heritage. One of the critical aspects of the plan was the adaptive reuse of Old Goa’s heritage buildings. The Pius X Institute, an interesting example combining adaptive reuse and new construction, has its roots in this plan.

Interestingly, archaeological excavations in Old Goa - after a brief activity in the early 20th century - have only occurred in the last two decades, while many of the known archaeological sites in and around the abandoned city are being threatened and submerged by development. The only systematic excavations occurred on the site of the vice-roy’s palace, the Brahmapuri underground sacred tank and the Augustinian convent. This last monumental group of ruins has been recently musealized and is one of Old Goa’s popular tourist attractions.

In this paper, besides describing the Gracias / Vassalo e Silva plan of 1959 and some of the conservation and musealization interventions in Old Goa since, I will elaborate on new ideas and opportunities regarding heritage issues in Old Goa

PT| A investigação em curso da arte retabular do território Indo-Português tem vindo a revelar especificidades na produção artística referente ao território goês que a destaca da produção do restante território de contacto. Estas especificidades, que se manifestam nos detalhes entalhados dos vários elementos arquitectónicos, permitem avançar com a identificação de oficinas a laborar durante o século XVII e XVIII e colocar Goa numa posição de destaque quando comparada directamente com outros territórios da antiga Índia Portuguesa como Damão, Diu, Baçaim e Bombaim. Goa do século XVII-XVIII é desta forma inovadora, quer pela interpretação do risco importado do Reino quer pela integração de elementos artísticos embebidos na sua multiculturalidade milenar.

ING| The undergoing research in retable art in India as unveiled its uniqueness as we placed our attention in the features that allows us to identify the artisans and the workshops of this art made during the 17th and 18th century in India. It was from that moment that it was possible to start identifying main and subsidiary influences in some of the details engraved in its architecture, and place Goa in a spotlight position when compared with the other territories of the former Portuguese India such as Daman, Diu, Bassein and Bombay. Those particular features in the retable art place Goa not only a spotlight position but also reveals Goa as an art maker and innovator, either by the particular interpretation of the retable art brought from Portugal or by the inclusion of artistic elements known for centuries in its inner culture.

O retábulo Indo-Português das regiões da antiga Província do Norte e dos territórios de Goa é ainda para a história da arte um objecto que encerra em si muitos segredos, simplesmente porque o seu estudo não foi estabelecido e aprofundado, de forma a se determinarem os intercâmbios culturais na génese da sua execução artística. Num território onde cultos e deidades, altares e templos despontam entre as mais variadas e espectaculares formas de representação, a iconografia religiosa cristã enfrentaria um desafio que perpassava a própria lei de Roma.
No panorama de iliteracia católica, a arte religiosa surge como catalisador da fé mostrando nas imagens os benefícios da conversão sendo o retábulo o seu veículo principal. O retábulo é nesta perspectiva o representante da fé pela arte, o livro em imagens. As várias realidades aqui enunciadas conjecturaram a espectacularidade na representação: na fauna, animais fantásticos em substituição dos animais bíblicos, na flora, uso predominante da flora local e em geral transmutações que só são entendíveis tendo em conta a historicidade religiosa dos povos que se queriam cristianizados.
O trabalho de investigação inserido no programa para doutoramento , bem como o trabalho anterior que conduziu ao grau de licenciatura , tem vindo a desvendar esses segredos e a mostrar as relações artísticas entre artistas do reino e artistas locais.

Contents of online websites and advertisements by real estate companies operating in Goa suggest that newly developed properties are meant to attract urban elites from Indian metros. These investors from urban metros, such as Delhi, seek a tranquil getaway from the pollution and pressures of city life. However, more than simply Goa's idyllic location, second homeowners desire to indulge in the region's difference from the rest of India-Goa, after all, was a Portuguese territory for 451 years. For the Indian urban elites, investing in the state is not just about buying 'a piece of Goa' on which to sojourn; rather, it is about buying into what this land signifies: an exotic 'laidback' Goan lifestyle. Essentially, I aim to suggest that the contemporary image of Goa through real estate advertisements is fashioned for the consumption of elite buyers from Indian metros who are sold a version of Goa's culture that evokes the Portuguese colonial past while instantiating an idyllic present. Even as the elements from colonial-era architectural style of Goa are sustained or replicated, and Goan land appropriated, Goans themselves are not factored into the commercial imaginings of the sale of these exclusive and exclusionary properties.

The book is a narrative of the turbulent, historical, cultural and artistic context of the Goan Oratorian architectural tradition, adopted to the temporal and spiritual needs of the native Catholic population of Sri Lanka, during the 18th and 19th centuries, through various form of Indo-Portuguese influences. While analyzing in detail the growth and the current situation of the “Oratorian Church Models” which is unique to Sri Lanka, the passages trace the historical background of the Portuguese missionary church architecture from which it emerged. The book also looks at the diversity of architectural traditions of the Oratorians (formally known as Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri)  in other Portuguese territories around the world.

Following the mysterious death in 1551 of Bhuvanekabāhu VII, a thorough inventory of the Ceylonese royal treasury was drafted by Simao Botelho for the Portuguese State of India (the Estado). Although published in full by Sousa Viterbo in 1904, it has received little attention from scholars. Published in its original sixteenth-century Portuguese language and teeming with long forgotten words and an exotic vocabulary of Asian origin, the inventory has remained almost unknown since it was first printed. Meticulously drafted, it contains the inventory of the monies, gold pieces, and jewels removed from the royal treasury and also the treasury of the private royal temple. The present chapter aims to provide the first systematic analysis of its invaluable art historical content.

From the encounter of the Portuguese and Indian cultures, a form of art already active on the Western Europe came aboard the Portuguese ships sailing for spices: the retables – a religious art, in the quest of evangelization of the Indian sub-continent that, away from the Atlantic ocean, began to acquire different forms, different artistic grammars and most of all, a spectacular religiosity interaction.
From the 14th century till the 18th century, Portugal had a very important role in India, in particular, in the regions of Goa, Daman and Diu, cities that still preserve the Portuguese language has their on. One of the ways to conquer the country, and with that assemble economic values to the mother nation, was the evangelization of the people, which they believed to be long lost Christians after watching they’re temples and idols. But Portugal was two oceans away and the voyages took many months to complete, so it was impossible to bring specialised artisans able to make the retables in India, and also to permanently bring retables from Portugal that with the rigorous sailing conditions always arrived pretty damaged. So they found a way to produce them by contracting local artisans, and this was the beginning of the spectacular dimension that this art took: artisans already used to Hindu forms were now building Christian forms without even knowing the religious language, only knowing the artistic language.
From this presentation, the member of the audience will be able to identify artistic forms and they’re meanings, understand different elements in the architectural structure, see the evolution of those architectural structures thru the century’s and acquire knowledge about this almost world unknown form of art.

Na arte indo-portuguesa existem peças de valor excepcional que, devido ao reconhecimento da sua qualidade artística intrínseca, têm sido alvo de estudos que permitem o desvendar das suas significações formais e iconográficas que, com o passar dos séculos, foram ficando à margem da memória. Nesse grupo de objectos excepcionais encontram-se por exemplo, as peças de mobiliário como contadores e mesas executadas na extraordinária madeira de teca, ébano e sissó entre outras, ou as peças de ourivesaria trabalhadas nos detalhes, as figuras de vulto esculpidas em madeira ou marfim, tapeçarias, entre outros. Todos estes objectos preservaram-se no tempo e no nosso território por terem sido alvo de encomendas e de trocas comerciais entre Portugal e o território do sub-continente indiano, no entanto, estes fazem parte de um espólio ainda mais vasto que subsiste no espaço oriental. Neste grupo de objectos artísticos indo-portugueses encontra-se aquilo que é a expressão máxima da arte da talha – o retábulo, que enobrece os interiores das igrejas edificadas pelos portugueses entre os séculos XVI-XVIII.
O retábulo é a expressão máxima da demonstração da fé na arte, o livro sagrado personificado na madeira, o veículo de conversão de fiéis que ao chegar ao espaço oriental, viria a sofrer transformações artísticas, por vezes profundas, fruto da miscigenação artística gerada pela riquíssima cultura hindu. A incorporação dos valores hindus na temática cristã dá lugar a criações de elevada mestria. É possível encontrar nesses encontros, a assimilação de valores apotropaicos da cultura hindu que são válidos na mesma medida para a cultura cristã introduzida pelos portugueses na índia, bem com opções formais que se encontram nos templos hindus. O contrário também aconteceu, e a partir da presença portuguesa na índia, os templos hindus passaram a adoptar soluções arquitectónicas tipicamente portuguesas. Estas assimilações de valores acontecem pelo facto tão simples da existência de mão-de-obra totalmente especializada; os mestres carpinteiros que ao longo de séculos aprimoraram a arte de esculpir a madeira na execução dos templos hindus, estavam agora ao serviço da arte cristã portuguesa. Naturalmente que a necessidade de conversão de fieis foi também outro dos factores importantes para esta comunhão de valores notável.
Até aos dias de hoje apenas alguns estudos foram realizados no sentido da preservação da memória e do entendimento dos significados, que infelizmente não permitiram mais que a mera enunciação de existências. Nesses estudos preliminares estiveram figuras como Mário Tavares Chicó, Carlos de Azevedo que permitiram o início desses estudos e mais recentemente Hélder Carita, José Meco e Pedro Dias que têm vindo a desvelar a arte indo-portuguesa ainda desconhecida para os públicos mais gerais. Apesar disso, o retábulo indo-português carece ainda de estudos específicos que garantam a sua preservação, facto que é confirmado pela falta de bibliografia específica, sendo a existente já gerada há mais de 50 anos. O estudo preliminar realizado no âmbito da tese de licenciatura – O Retábulo da Companhia de Jesus, Damão e Diu – permitiu-me avançar no desconhecido relativamente ao que é o retábulo no espaço indo-português ao nível das comutações artísticas, às vezes tão discrepantes das soluções tipicamente portuguesas, outras vezes tão similares ao nível das significações.