Benin Ivory Mask

Edo People, Iyoba Pendant Mask, 
16th c., ivory, iron, copper 


The Queen Mother Pendant Mask (Iyoda) was sculpted the early 16th century by the Edo people off the coast Benin in Nigeria. It is a depiction of the Queen Mother Idia created for her son in her honor. She was known for fighting merciless to secure her son lineage as he was to be the future king. It is said that Oba would have worn the mask on his chest during ceremonies to commemorate his mother. It is apparent that family especially the mother plays a significant role in these people's lineage. If the first born is a son, the Queen Mother will not have any other children and just focus on her son. 

 This is an incredible intricate piece that is made of ivory, copper, and iron. In the Benin culture ivory has two significance meanings behind it, while the white stand for is purity and the ivory itself represents wealth. The hair on this piece is depicted in the shape of a tiara. Each of the points on the tiara are alternating of faces mudfish and Portugueses traders. This is meant to honor the trading relationship between the Portuguese people who brought wealth to the Edo people. The mudfish are creatures that live on land and in water, they symbolize the king’s dueling nature of humanity and being divine.  

 

 



Dr. Christa Clarke, "Queen Mother Pendant Mask (Iyoba) (Edo peoples)," in Smarthistory, October 10, 2016, accessed February 28, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/queen-mother-pendant-mask-iyoba/.

HENI Talks, "Benin ivory mask (Edo peoples)," in Smarthistory, June 17, 2018, accessed February 28, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/ivory-mask-benin/.

Comments

  1. Sara YaunMarch 10, 2021 at 8:30 PM

    In general I'm very fascinated by carvings of ivory, all that I've ever seen are so intricate and the details are so small. I can't even imagine how hard it was to carve a mask like the Iyoba pendant mask and it's even worse if you mess up. There's no way to erase a mistake like you could with pencil on paper.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Throne of Wisdom

Image
One of the most popular images in Chistianity is the image of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. Over the past thousand years the Virgin Mary or The Queen of Heaven has gone for a serious, almost stern faced woman with her son sitting on her lap to a young a beautiful queen holding her son on her hip. The image of The Queen of Heaven holding her son on her lap is also known as The Throne of Wisdom( https://smarthistory.org/throne-of-wisdom-sculptures/ ) during the Romanesque art period. The myth behind the Throne of Wisdom is that in the old testament the Book of Kings, King Solomon who embodied wisdom, and justice had a throne of ivory covered in gold. Like his predecessors, the son of God representing wisdom needed a throne befitting a king. Thus, Mary enthroned herself, baby Jesus appears to be more of a miniature man rather than a baby. He also holds an open bible in his hand which symbolizes divine wisdom. During the middle ages, people believed that these statues were not not s...
Read more

The Ardabil Carpet

Image
Carpets are used to decorate the floors and walls mosques and shines, they are an important part to Islamic art. They can give us an insight to their values, though their unique characters and designs.   The Ardabil Carpet https://smarthistory.org/the-ardabil-carpet/ is one of the oldest Islamic carpets in the world. The carpet gets its name from Ardabil, a town that is north-west of Iran. Ardabil was the home of a shrine dedicated to  Safi al-Din Ardabili , the carpet was made for his shrine. Safi al-Din Ardabili, is a  Sufi saint who trained his followers in I slamic mystic practices. This is when Muslims through direct contact with God can find spiritual love, and knowledge. One of Safi al-Din Ardabili descendants united Iran, the lineage that he created is known as Safavids, and lasted for over 200 years. This was one of the most important times for Islamic art. This carpet is a huge part of that art, it's  amazing, full of brilliant and vibrant colors as well...
Read more

Jowo Rinpoche, Jokhang Temple, Tibet

Image
  There are many versions of the Buddha Shakyamuni ( https://smarthistory.org/jowo-rinpoche-jokhang-temple-tibet/ )image around the world that can be made out of precious metals, carved out of wood or painted.  For instance, the Emerald Buddha in Thailand is made out of jade, the Seiryoji Buddha in Japan is carved out of wood and the Jowo Rinpoche in Tibet is made out of gilded metal. The Jowo Rinpoche is considered to be one of the most holy statues in Tibet, it  means “precious one” in Tibetan. This extravagant sculpture has Buddha sitting in the lotus position and covered with semiprecious stones, pearls, and paint. One unique feature is his electric blue hair.  In its 1300 year history, it has been restored and reconstructed, so it is unknown what the original image might have looked like when it was made around the 7th century. The earliest written description of this statute around the 11th century has the wrathful deity is seen protruding from the Buddha’s nec...
Read more