Edo, court of Benin / Pendant Mask: Iyoba / 16th centuryEdo, court of Benin
Pendant Mask: Iyoba
16th century

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Creator Nationality: African; West African; Benin
Creator Name-CRT: Edo, court of Benin
Title: Pendant Mask: Iyoba
View: Full View
Creation Start Date: 1500
Creation End Date: 1599
Creation Date: 16th century
Object Type: Sculpture
Materials and Techniques: Ivory, iron, copper
Dimensions: H. 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm)
AMICA Contributor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: New York, New York, USA
ID Number: 1978.412.323
Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1972
Rights: http://www.metmuseum.org/
Context:

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 Oba Esigie, the king of Benin, to honor his mother, Idia. 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. 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.


AMICA ID: MMA_.1978.412.323
AMICA Library Year: 2000
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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