The Portuguese & the Pendant Mask of Idia, First Queen Mother of Benin (in present-day Nigeria). LIyoba, XVI century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This ivory pendant mask is one of a pair of nearly identical works; its counterpart is in the British Museum in London.

Although images of women are rare in Benin's courtly tradition, these two works have come to symbolize the legacy of a dynasty that continues to the present day. The pendant mask is believed to have been produced in the early sixteenth century for the King or "Oba" Esigie, the king of Benin, to honor his mother, Idia.

The MET Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba 16th century. Nigeria, Court of Benin, Edo peoples. Ivory, iron, copper (?). H. 9 3/8 x W. 5 x D. 3 1/4 in. (23.8 x 12.7 x 8.3 cm). The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection.

The Oba may have worn it at rites commemorating his mother, although today such pendants are worn at annual ceremonies of spiritual renewal and purification.

In Benin, ivory is related to the color white, a symbol of ritual purity that is associated with Olokun, god of the sea.

As the source of extraordinary wealth and fertility, Olokun is the spiritual counterpart of the "oba". Ivory is central to the constellation of symbols surrounding Olokun and the "oba".

Not only is it white, but it is itself Benin's principle commercial commodity and it helped attract the Portuguese traders who also brought wealth to Benin. The mask is a sensitive, idealized portrait, depicting its subject with softly modeled features, bearing inlaid metal and carved scarification marks on the forehead, and wearing bands of coral beads below the chin. In the openwork tiara and collar are carved stylized mudfish and the bearded faces of Portuguese.

The MET Detail of Portuguese merchant and mudfish from crown of Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba (cropped).

Because they live both on land and in the water, mudfish represent the king's dual nature as human and divine.

Having come from across the seas, the Portuguese were considered denizens of the spirit realm who brought wealth and power to the "oba".

Benin Ivory masks of Idia, First Queen Mother of Benin, XVI century.

The Benin ivory mask is a miniature sculptural portrait in ivory of the powerful Queen Mother Idia of the 16th century Benin Empire, taking the form of an African traditional mask. The likeness was worn however, not as a mask, but as a pendant by her son Esigie, who owed his kingship as Oba of Benin to the Queen Mother's military aid.

The MET Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba 16th century. Nigeria, Court of Benin, Edo peoples. Ivory, iron, copper (?). H. 9 3/8 x W. 5 x D. 3 1/4 in. (23.8 x 12.7 x 8.3 cm). The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection.

Two almost identical masks are extant: one at the British Museum in London and the other at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Both feature a serene face of the Queen Mother wearing a beaded headdress, a beaded choker at her neck, scarification highlighted by iron inlay on the forehead, and all framed by the flange of an openwork tiara and collar of symbolic beings, as well as double loops at each side for attachment of the pendant.

There are also examples on the same theme at the Seattle Art Museum and the Linden Museum, and one in a private collection, all taken during the British Benin Expedition of 1897.

British Museum Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba 16th century. Nigeria, Court of Benin, Edo peoples. Carved ivory mask-shaped hip-pendant, inlaid with iron and bronze, XVI century.

The British Museum example in particular has also become a cultural emblem of modern Nigeria since FESTAC 77, a major pan-African cultural festival held in 1977.

The kingdom of Benin lay deep inside the rainforest, but it was not cut off from other places. To the north was the River Niger. This major river provided a route for trading goods with other African kingdoms. To the south was the Atlantic Ocean. Ships sailed from Europe to West Africa and merchants travelled up rivers into the heart of Benin.

Benin Empire

In the early 16th century, the dynamic Esigie ruled the Benin Empire of the Edo people as its Oba. He came to power as Portuguese explorers first made contact with the empire. Trade and diplomacy with Europe brought Esigie and the Edo prosperity and regional influence as the empire traded pepper, ivory, local textiles, and slaves for brass, cloth, coral beads, and mercenaries for protection.

Esigie engaged in two major conflicts. First, his half-brother fought a protracted civil war over the line of succession that would crown Esigie, the firstborn. Second, Esigie successfully defended against an invasion from the northern Igala Kingdom and captured their leader.

Esigie rewarded his key political and mystical advisor during these trials, his mother Idia, with the title of Iyoba (Queen Mother)—the first in a tradition of Queen Mother advisors. The identification with Idia was made by Oba Akenzua II in the mid-20th century.

Linden Museum Queen Mother Idia mask, XVI century

Ritual use

The Oba of Benin commissioned works from his guild of ivory and wood carvers, the Igbesanmwan. Their works were customized for their ruler, between the material connotations of ivory and the visual motifs in the carvings.

At least two of the masks feature Portuguese imagery (although this imagery outlasted the actual Portuguese presence) and thus were likely created during Esigie's early-16th century rule (possibly ca. 1520), either during Idia's life or soon after her death.

The similarities between the masks indicate that they were likely created at the same time by the same artist.

Their details match the comparable carving qualities of ivory spoons and salt cellars commissioned during the same period, the early period of Benin art, the phase of strongest affiliation with Ife or Yoruba art.

Ivory works from Benin were mainly for the Oba to use in ritual.The masks may have been used in ceremonies including the Ugie Iyoba commemoration of the Oba's mother, as well the Emobo purification ceremony to expel bad spirits from the land.

Similar pendant masks are mainly used in contemporary Emobo ceremonies focused on bad spirits, though the traditions of Emobo may have changed throughout history.

Four rungs on the side of the masks, above and below each ear, let the masks hang in suspension and indicate that the masks were suspended from a cord, though experts have disagreed on how they were worn.

British Museum art historian William Fagg concluded that unlike the small brass pendant masks worn at the waist by modern kings, the ivory mask was likely worn around the neck. An 1830s drawing of a similar mask worn at the breast by a neighboring ruler confirms Fagg's theory.

Based on the position of the rungs, Metropolitan curator Alisa LaGamma also affirmed the theory.

Benin specialist and anthropologist Paula Ben-Amos, however, wrote that the masks were worn on the waist as pendants during the Ugie Iyoba and Emobo ceremonies.

The hollow masks likely served as amuletic containers. Below the mask's collars, the ring of small loops are attachment points for crotal bells.

Courtesy: