The trading boat with two Europeans is a significant scene. The Kongo believe inhabitants in the land of the living are black, while those in the realm of the dead are white. To the Kongo, Europeans displayed characteristics of the dead. In addition, they traveled by water, a point of transition and mediation, between the living and the dead; spoke a strange tongue; and possessed superior technology in the form of firearms. Consequently, when the Kongo encountered Europeans, they were convinced their ancestors or spirits had returned from the other world. This scene may very well represent this belief.

In Kongo art, Europeans are usually depicted with long hair and beards as they appear here. The ship's banner with the sign of the cross in the shape of a "T" may be a symbol of Saint Anthony, one of the patron saints of Portugal.

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