Bench

The bench was put up for the World’s Fair Expo, which took place in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon in 1998. A simple structure serves as the base for one of Portugal’s more traditional crafts, ceramic “azulejos”; this practice dates as far back as the 13th century, when the Moors invaded a great part of the Iberian Peninsula. The word azulejo stems from Arabic roots, meaning “small polished stone”. A very appropriate representation of Portugal for the 1998s World’s Fair Expo. Representing more than 145 countries, the World’s Fair Expo covered an area of 50 newly developed hectares and received approximately 11 million visitors. The exhibition officially marked the 500th anniversary of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India in 1498. The discovery of the sea route was of great importance, in that Western merchants could now avoid the expensive intermediary trades in Arabia. Gama’s discovery and subsequent colonisation of areas in South India paved the way for his appointment as Viceroy of India and another expedition in 1524 — during which, however, he quickly succumbed to malaria.