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Secondary sourceSculptureTaken on 14 May 2012

Vasco da Gama statue (photograph, 2012)

lienyuan lee · Taken on 14 May 2012

A 2012 photograph of a green bronze bust of Vasco da Gama on a granite pedestal, in front of a multi-story white building. It shows how the explorer is commemorated in public today.

Shows how Gama is commemorated in public places long after his death, through a later bronze memorial rather than an original object from his life.

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Green patinated bronze bust of a bearded man in a plumed hat and cloak, mounted on a granite pedestal, in front of a white multi-story building with many windows.
lienyuan lee, Vasco da Gama statue, photograph, 14 May 2012.

About this source

What it is

This is a photograph taken on 14 May 2012 by lienyuan lee. It shows a green patinated bronze bust of a bearded man in a plumed hat and cloak, mounted on a granite pedestal. Behind it stands a white multi-story building with many windows. The record calls it a modern snapshot of a later memorial, so the photograph shows the statue as it looked in 2012, not the explorer himself.

Why it matters

Vasco da Gama reached India in May 1498 and later served as Portugal's second viceroy in Portuguese India. Statues like this one were set up long after his lifetime to keep his name in public memory. Comparing such memorials with older portraits shows how each period chose to remember him.

Look closer

  • What does the bronze bust show about how the man is dressed, and what does the plume suggest?
  • Why do you think a memorial was placed in this location, and who might have chosen it?
  • What does a statue like this leave out about the people affected by Gama's voyages?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Vasco da Gama on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Painting of an elderly bearded man with white beard and dark beret, wearing a dark robe with brown fur collar and a red cross pendant. He holds a pair of spectacles and a folded handwritten letter against a dark green background.Painting

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Portrait of Vasco da Gama

Anonymous · c. 1525

Painted portrait of a bearded man in a black cloak and black hat, holding a staff in his left hand and a sword hilt at his waist. Behind him is a shield with red and white stripes and a Portuguese coat of arms. The gold-colored inscription at top reads Dovasço da Gama Visoreie Comde.Painting

Secondary source

Vasco da Gama, Livro de Lisuarte de Abreu

Livro de Lisuarte de Abreu (compiler unknown) · c. 1565

A black line-drawn autograph signature on white background, with a stylized flourish above and an underline stroke beneath, running across the image from left to right.Document

Secondary source

Signature of Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama

A tall tapering white stone pillar topped with a stone cross stands on a raised circular platform by the sea. Two people sit on a low wall at left, and others sit near the right side under a partly cloudy blue sky.Artifact

Primary source

Vasco da Gama Pillar

1498 or 1499

Hand-painted portolan-style world map on parchment showing the Atlantic, Africa, and parts of Asia and the Americas, with compass roses, rhumb lines, colored flags, and Latin and Portuguese place labels.Document

Primary source

Cantino Planisphere

Anonymous Portuguese cartographer · 1502

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