Attendant from the Altar Tableau of a Queen Mother
Sieghart Ott, Munich, Germany
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 5 July 2008, Lot 86
Werner Zintl, Worms, Germany
Description
copper alloy (bronze, brass), base
Figures of attendants carrying fans found on altar tableaus are made in honour of a Queen Mother „Iyoba“, and were placed in the palace of the „Oba“ after her death.
The “Iyoba” tableaus are generalised representations with the purpose of expressing the importance of a “lyoba”, her function, authority and privileges that she shares with men in the political hierarchy of Benin.
The tableaus always show essentially the same figural structure: the Queen Mother accompanied by eight attendants. Apart from lavish coral-beaded necklaces, bracelets and anklets, the figures are naked. They represent women who have been given by their families to the Queen Mother to serve her until she betroths them either to the “Oba” or to a chief with whom she would like to strengthen her ties.
A comparable figure from the Frank Crowninshield Collection, was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum in New York in 1937 (AHDRC 0087976). For an illustration of an altar tableau, see Plankensteiner, 2007, p. 148, fig. 9.
Comparing literature
Ezra, Kate, Royal Art of Benin, New York 1992, p. 83 Plankensteiner, Barbara (Hg.), Benin, Könige und Rituale, Wien 2007Publications
AHDRC: 0088000