Portrait of Ambassador Antonius Emanuel, with four historical scenes from his life, 1608 (engraving)

Posthumous portrait of Antonius Emanuel (d.1608); Ambassador of Congo to Rome with title of Marquis of Wnth; also Known as Emanuel, Antonius; Emanuele, Antonio; Emanuele Funta, Antonio; Ne-Vunda was his Congolese name; the first two scenes depict the ambassador being given his letters of credence to take to Rome by King Alvaro I, King of Kongo (1568-87) and his arrival at the Vatican; the last two scenes depict the visit by Pope Paul V (1552-1621) to Antonius Emanuel on his deathbed and his funeral procession to S.Maria Maggiore; among the results of the links between Portugal and the Kingdom of Kongo from the late 15th century onwards were the conversion to Christianity of the nobles and king and a policy of Europeanising society; this included the introduction of European titles of nobility, marquis;duke, etc;