Memorial head of a Queen Mother "iyoba" · Nigeria, Benin · ID: 3034367
Udo Petry, Hohnhorst, Germany
Description
bronze (?), spoiled casting, characterized by big eyes, a noble profile with receding forehead and the typical peeked coiffure with lattice design, the lower part of the face (mouth, chin, neck) fragmentary or missing, metal socle;
according to a written document the head was bought from a nigerian General in Lagos one year after the Biafra war (1967-1970) took place.
The title of queen mother was apparently introduced to Benin by King (“oba”) Esigie about the beginning of the sixteenth century to honor his own mother, “Idia”. After the death of a queen mother the “oba” commissioned a bronze head which was placed on the ancestor shrine dedicated to “iyoba”. Just like male dignitaries of high rank, the queen mothers were shown with insignia made of coral beads: especially characteristic is the peaked coiffure coated by a net of coralbeads. The bronze heads were cast in memoriam and served as bridges between the spirit and the ordinary worlds.
Expertise
Thermolumineszenz-Gutachten, Nr. 000506, Labor Ralf Kotalla, Haigerloch, 27. Mai 2000
Comparing literature
Plankensteiner, Barbara (Hg.), Benin, Könige und Rituale, Wien 2007, p. 395 f. Africa, The Art of a Continent, New York 1996, ill. 131