Benin ivory mask

Last updated
Benin ivory mask
Queen Mother Pendant Mask- Iyoba MET DP231460.jpg
One of four related ivory pendant masks, taken during the punitive expedition of 1897.
Material Ivory, iron inlay
Height24.5cm
Width12.5cm
Depth6cm
CreatedSixteenth century AD
Discovered Benin City
Present location Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Linden Museum, private collection
Registration 1978.412.323, Af1910,0513.1, 81.17.493, F 50565
Culture Benin Court Art
Measurements are from the British Museum version; other versions have slightly different dimensions.

The Benin ivory mask is a miniature sculptural portrait in ivory of Idia, the first Iyoba (Queen Mother) of the 16th century Benin Empire, taking the form of a traditional African mask. [1] The masks were looted by the British from the palace of the Oba of Benin in the Benin Expedition of 1897. [2]

Contents

Two almost identical masks are kept at the British Museum in London and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City [ citation needed ]. [3] [4] 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, 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. [5]

Until its restitution in 2022 to Nigeria, the Linden Museum in Germany [6] had such a mask in its collection. Further, there are also similar masks at the Seattle Art Museum [7] and one in a private collection. [8] [9]

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 Lagos, Nigeria in 1977, which chose as is official emblem a replica of the mask crafted by Erhabor Emokpae. [10]

Origins

Three of the ivory masks

Benin Empire

In the early 16th century, the dynamic Esigie ruled the Benin Empire of the Edo people as its Oba. [11] He came to power as Portuguese explorers first made contact with the empire. The empire traded pepper, ivory, local textiles, and slaves for brass and coral beads. 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. [12] 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. [13] The identification with Idia was made by Oba Akenzua II in the mid-20th century. [14]

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. [15] At least two of the masks feature Portuguese imagery (although this imagery outlasted the actual Portuguese presence) [16] [17] and thus were likely created during Esigie's early-16th century rule (possibly c. 1520), [18] either during Idia's life or soon after her death. [12] The similarities between the masks indicate that they were likely created at the same time [19] by the same artist. [12] Their details match the comparable carving qualities of ivory spoons and salt cellars commissioned during the same period, [12] the early period of Benin art, the phase of strongest affiliation with Ife or Yoruba art. [20] [21] Ivory works from Benin were mainly for the Oba to use in ritual. [22] 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. [12] [23] [24] Similar pendant masks are mainly used in contemporary Emobo ceremonies focused on bad spirits, though the traditions of Emobo may have changed throughout history. [23]

Four rungs on the side of the masks, above and below each ear, let the masks hang in suspension [12] and indicate that the masks were suspended from a cord, [19] though experts have disagreed on how they were worn. [12] [19] 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. [19] Based on the position of the rungs, Metropolitan curator Alisa LaGamma also affirmed the theory. [12] 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. [12] The hollow masks likely served as amuletic containers. [12] Below the mask's collars, the ring of small loops are attachment points for crotal bells. [25]

Description and interpretation

They are made of ivory, long and ovular in shape, [26] and thinly carved, approaching semiopaqueness. [15] The similar British Museum and Metropolitan pendant masks have elaborate ornament at their hair and collar. Each mask's gaze is accentuated with iron inlay at its pupils and lower eye outline, and the eyes are slightly diverted by the eyelids. [26] [27] This use of inlay departed from the ways in which Europeans used ivory. [19] Above the eyes, the four supraorbital marks are associated with Benin women. [28] The masks' facial features are symmetrical and skillfully precise. [19] Their lips are parted, nostrils slightly flared, and hair dense with tiny coils and a rectilinear hairline. [12] The masks' expression of "impersonal coolness" reflected the stylistic conventions of the Oba's ivory carvers guild, with a naturalism typical of craft in early Benin art. [19]

A powerful woman

The depiction of women is rare in Benin art, [4] though the position of Idia, known to Edo tradition as "the only woman who went to war", is exceptional, and the very title of Iyoba or Queen Mother was created for her. [29] The headdress forms part of the ukpe-okhue ("parrot's beak") hairstyle she originated, and is more clearly seen on the Bronze Head of Queen Idia. [30] The depicted precious coral of the headdress and choker are in the form of cylindrical ileke ("royal") beads, which it was the specially-granted privilege of the Queen Mother to wear, being usually reserved for the Oba and the Edogun (war chief). [30] [31] [32] [33] The Linden Museum mask also has a string of actual ikiele beads of coral wrapped around its forehead. [34] These red beads and red cloth, once reserved for leadership figures, have in modern times been popularly adopted as elements of Edo traditional dress.

Modern Edo women wearing ileke-style beads. Uniben culture day 2.jpg
Modern Edo women wearing ileke-style beads.

The foreheads of both masks were are inscribed with four vertical cicatrices over each eye, with inlays of a pair of iron strips highlighting the scarification. [35] Iron is also used in the pupils and rims of the eyes. [18]

Trade symbol

Detail of Portuguese merchant head and mudfish Detail of Portuguese merchant and mudfish from crown of Met's Queen Mother Pendant Mask- Iyoba (cropped).jpg
Detail of Portuguese merchant head and mudfish

Ivory, both then and now, connotes royal wealth, power, and purity. [15] Ivory, already a luxury commodity in Africa, became increasingly coveted with the growth of the European ivory trade. [36] When an elephant was killed in Benin, the Oba received one tusk as a gift and was offered the other in sale. Thus, the Oba had many tusks and controlled the ivory trade. [37] Ivory is associated with the Edo orisha of the sea, Olokun. As this orisha gives wealth and fertility, it the spirit world's equivalent of the Benin Oba. Ivory gave wealth similar to Olokun, as it enticed the Portuguese merchants who, in turn, returned wealth to Benin. [37] The Portuguese belonged to Olokun, having arrived from the sea. [22] The whiteness of ivory also reflects the symbolism of white chalk, whose ritual purity is associated with Olokun. [37] [38] [39]

The openwork of the tiara and collar represent tiny heads of Portuguese men in the tiara of both the Met and the British Museum examples, with eleven figures in the British Museum mask, and in the Met mask seven figures of Portuguese men alternating with six representations of mudfish, the West African lungfish. [34] The Portuguese, who had only recently arrived in the area, were a symbol of power and affluence to the royal court. [12] Their iconography is identifiable by their long hair, hanging mustaches (often described as bearded), and domed hats. [15] Benin art historian Barbara Blackmun interprets these crown adornments as a reference to Idia's ability to conduct the Portuguese power to her son's favor. [13] Mudfish were a common theme in Benin royal arts, [12] and reflected the divinity of the Oba. [22] Edo cosmology believed that spirits crossed the ocean to reach the afterlife, where their leaders lived like gods. As creatures who could live on land and sea, the mudfish symbolized the duality needed for the leader's final journey, [12] and this duality represents the seafaring Portuguese as well. [4] [40] The mudfish also appear in a pattern on the Linden Museum mask's crown, while the private collection mask's crown has bird elements, also formerly present on the similar Seattle Art Museum mask. [19] The masks also differ in pattern along their bottom, collar edges. The collar of the Met example is similarly decorated with eleven Portuguese men (with damage on its proper right side), while the collar of the British Museum mask is instead an abstract guilloché latticework. [12] [19]

Provenance

Rawson.jpg
Oba-ovonramwen crop etc.jpg
Harry Rawson (left) led the Benin Expedition of 1897 to capture Ovonramwen, the Oba of Benin. The ivory pendant masks were looted from the Oba's bedroom.

During the 1897 punitive Benin Expedition, the British looted a group of similar ivory masks in the Oba's palace bedroom. The expedition's civil leader Ralph Moor took the two finest masks, which were later collected by British anthropologist Charles Gabriel Seligman and transferred to the London Museum of Mankind (now the British Museum) and the New York Museum of Primitive Art (now the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Two additional masks from the bedchamber group were taken by the British and now reside in the collections of the Seattle Art Museum (formerly Principal Medical Officer Robert Allman) and the Linden Museum in Stuttgart (formerly W. D. Webster [41] and then Augustus Pitt Rivers), [20] and there is one in a private collection of the heirs of Henry Galway. [9]

Five to six masks of this type [42] were found in a large chest in 1897 in the bedchamber of the then-reigning Oba Ovonramwen, the ruler at the Benin court. They were taken at a time of great civil unrest during the British punitive Benin Expedition of 1897, the British burned the royal palaces of the Oba and the Queen Mother and looted thousands of ivory, brass and wood artworks from the ancestral altars, private quarters and storerooms and many were sold in England to western museums and collectors to offset the cost of the expedition. [43] [9] The British Museum's pendant was purchased in 1910 from the British anthropologist Prof Charles Gabriel Seligman. [17]

Nelson Rockefeller.jpg
Henri Rousseau 010.jpg
Rockefeller founded the Museum for Primitive Art. Its director claimed that the mask would become as recognizable as Rousseau's Sleeping Gypsy .

The Met's mask was acquired in 1972 as a gift of Nelson Rockefeller. [4] He founded the Museum of Primitive Art in 1954 after the Metropolitan Museum did not reciprocate his interest in Precolumbian art. The museum collected works for their artistic—and not anthropological—value, [44] contrasting with the earlier history of African art in Western collections. The Queens College art historian Robert Goldwater became its director and recommended acquisitions. [45] His argument to collect the ivory pendant mask was among his longest, at the end of 1957. He called it "the best object of its kind known, nor will any others ever turn up". Goldwater wrote that the mask was higher in quality than the similar, renowned one owned by the British Museum. The mask, he predicted, would redefine the collection and go on permanent display, on par with the Museum of Modern Art's well-known Sleeping Gypsy (1897) by Henri Rousseau. Rockefeller purchased the mask at a record price and unveiled it in September 1958. The purchase solidified a policy that Goldwater believed the museum should center around permanent collections of masterworks. [46]

Legacy

Festac 77, a major cultural festival in Nigeria, united African nations under the Idia mask emblem (pictured on the right). Festac '77 Grand Durbar (22173986028) (cropped) 1.jpg
Festac 77, a major cultural festival in Nigeria, united African nations under the Idia mask emblem (pictured on the right).

The Benin Pendant Mask has become an iconic image of Benin art, and the British Museum version in particular was featured on Nigerian one Naira banknotes in 1973, [47] and was chosen as the official emblem of the pan-Africanist FESTAC 77 cultural festival in 1977, so that this design is often known in modern Nigeria as the FESTAC Mask. [48] [49] The Nigerian government was unsuccessful in securing a loan of the work from the British Museum, and commissioned Edo artist Erhabor Emokpae to recreate the mask as a 20-foot tall bronze centerpiece for the festival (on display at the National Arts Theatre since 1979). [10] [50] He also designed a FESTAC flag [51] with the mask as central charge on an unequally banded black-gold-black vertical tricolor, and being responsible for the event's extensive graphic design. [52] Another Edo artist, Felix Idubor, was commissioned to carve two replica masks in ivory for the Nigerian National Museum. [53] A 150 kg bronze reproduction was also donated to UNESCO in 2005. [54]

The Met's Queen Mother pendant mask is considered among the museum's most celebrated works. [46] African art historian Ezio Bassani wrote that the profile of the Met's mask was "at once delicate and strong" with a "musical rhythm", and that its use of iron and copper inlay was both "discreet and functional". [19] He wrote that the Metropolitan and British Museum masks were among the most beautiful ivories carved in Benin, and that their artist was both refined and sensitive. [19] Kate Ezra wrote that the mask's thinness showcased the "sensitivity and solemnity" of early Benin art. [15]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Edo artist | Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba | Edo". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  2. ↑ "Museum Insights / The Raid on Benin, 1897". africa.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  3. ↑ "Ivory mask - Google Arts & Culture". Google Cultural Institute. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Metropolitan Museum Collection Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba, MetMuseum, retrieved 1 November 2014
  5. ↑ "The Portuguese & the Pendant Mask of Idia, First Queen Mother of Benin (in present-day Nigeria). LIyoba, XVI century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  6. ↑ Lindenmuseum. "Linden-Museum - Afrika". www.lindenmuseum.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2017-02-23. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  7. ↑ "Collections - SAM - Seattle Art Museum". www1.seattleartmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  8. ↑ "Sotheby's to auction 'Oba' mask". Financial Times. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  9. 1 2 3 "Sotheby's cancels sale of 'looted' Benin mask". The Independent. 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  10. 1 2 Falola, Toyin; Ann Genova, eds. (2009-07-01). "World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture". Historical Dictionary of Nigeria . Scarecrow Press. p.  369. ISBN   978-0-8108-6316-3.
  11. ↑ "The Kingdom of Benin". education.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 LaGamma 2011, p. 28.
  13. 1 2 LaGamma 2011, p. 29.
  14. ↑ LaGamma 2011, p. 26.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Ezra 1984, p. 21.
  16. ↑ Ezra, Kate (1992-01-01). Royal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN   9780870996337.
  17. 1 2 British Museum Collection, British Museum, retrieved 1 November 2014
  18. 1 2 Hansen, Valerie; Curtis, Ken (2016-01-01). Voyages in World History. Cengage Learning. ISBN   9781305888418.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Bassani 1991, p. 183.
  20. 1 2 Bassani 1991, p. 182.
  21. ↑ Goldwater, Robert (1969-06-01). Art of Oceania, Africa, and the Americas from the Museum of Primitive Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  22. 1 2 3 Ezra 1984, p. 18.
  23. 1 2 Ezra 1984, pp. 20–21.
  24. ↑ Ezra, Kate (1987). The Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Americas. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 84. ISBN   0870994611 . Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  25. ↑ Ezra, Kate (1992-01-01). Royal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN   9780870996337.
  26. 1 2 LaGamma 2011, pp. 26–28.
  27. ↑ The Met's mask uses iron inlay in the pupils and forehead markings, and copper inlay for the eyelid outline. [19]
  28. ↑ Ben-Amos 1980.
  29. ↑ Bortolot, Alexander Ives. "Idia: The First Queen Mother of Benin | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  30. 1 2 Smith, Bonnie G. (2008-01-01). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History: 4 Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN   9780195148909.
  31. ↑ Ezra, Kate (1992-01-01). Royal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN   9780870996337.
  32. ↑ The Art of Benin. British Museum Press. 2010-01-01. p. 13. ISBN   9780714125916.
  33. ↑ Meade, Teresa A.; Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. (2008-04-15). A Companion to Gender History. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   9780470692820.
  34. 1 2 Luschan, Felix von; Ankermann, B; Arthur Baessler-Stiftung (1919-01-01). Die Altertümer von Benin (in German). Berlin; Leipzig: De Gruyter. Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  35. ↑ Africa. Prestel. 2001-01-01. p. 74. ISBN   9783791325804.
  36. ↑ Ezra 1984, p. 14.
  37. 1 2 3 Ezra 1984, p. 16.
  38. ↑ Ezra, the Metropolitan Museum of Art; introductions by Douglas Newton, Julie Jones, Kate (1987). The Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Americas. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 84. ISBN   0870994611 . Retrieved 1 November 2014.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  39. ↑ Asante, Molefi Kete; Mazama, Ama (2008-11-26). Encyclopedia of African Religion. SAGE Publications. ISBN   9781506317861.
  40. ↑ Clarke, Christa; Arkenberg, Rebecca (2006-01-01). The Art of Africa: A Resource for Educators. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN   9781588391902.
  41. ↑ Cunard, Nancy (1934-01-01). Negro. Anthology made by N. Cunard, 1931-1933. [With illustrations. London: Nancy Cunard. Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  42. ↑ Fagg, William Buller (1978-01-01). Divine Kingship in Africa. Trustees of the British Museum. p. 29. ISBN   9780714115443.
  43. ↑ Kaplan, Flora Edouwaye S. (2014). "Sacrifice and Sanctity in Benin". In Olupona, Jacob Kẹhinde (ed.). Beyond Primitivism: Indigenous Religious Traditions and Modernity. Psychology Press. ISBN   9780415273190.
  44. ↑ LaGamma 2014, pp. 4–6.
  45. ↑ LaGamma 2014, pp. 5–7.
  46. 1 2 LaGamma 2014, p. 7.
  47. ↑ The wealth of Africa, British Museum, retrieved 1 November 2014
  48. ↑ Hauser-Schäublin, Brigitta; Prott, Lyndel V. (2016-06-10). Cultural Property and Contested Ownership: The Trafficking of Artefacts and the Quest for Restitution. Routledge. ISBN   9781317281832.
  49. ↑ Salami, Gitti; Visona, Monica Blackmun (2013-10-22). A Companion to Modern African Art. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   9781118515051.
  50. ↑ "FESTAC at 40: The history and mystery behind the mask". Vanguard News. 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  51. ↑ Apter, Andrew (2008-10-01). The Pan-African Nation: Oil and the Spectacle of Culture in Nigeria. University of Chicago Press. ISBN   9780226023564.
  52. ↑ Kelly, Bernice M.; Stanley, Janet L.; Smithsonian Institution. Libraries. National Museum of African Art Branch (1993-01-01). Nigerian artists : a who's who and bibliography. London; New York : Published for the National Museum of African Art Branch, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Washington, DC [by] Hans Zell. ISBN   9780905450827.
  53. ↑ Robinson, Alma; Robinson, Alma (1977-02-11). "The Controversial Mask of Benin". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  54. ↑ Matsuura, Koïchiro (2005-05-25). "On the occasion of the unveiling of Queen Idia's Mask" (PDF). UNESCO.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benin City</span> Capital city of Edo State, Nigeria

Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, southern Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oba of Benin</span> Traditional ruler of the Edo people

The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people. The then Kingdom of Benin has continued to be mostly populated by the Edo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benin Bronzes</span> Metal plaques and sculptures taken during the British expedition in the Kingdom of Benin in 1897

The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. Collectively, the objects form the best examples of Benin art and were created from the fourteenth century by artists of the Edo people. The plaques, which in the Edo language are called Ama, depict scenes or represent themes in the history of the kingdom. Apart from the plaques, other sculptures in brass or bronze include portrait heads, jewelry, and smaller pieces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African sculpture</span> Rarely conserved bronze and wooden figures and wooden masks

Most African sculpture was historically in wood and other organic materials that have not survived from earlier than at most a few centuries ago; older pottery figures are found from a number of areas. Masks are important elements in the art of many peoples, along with human figures, often highly stylized. There is a vast variety of styles, often varying within the same context of origin depending on the use of the object, but wide regional trends are apparent; sculpture is most common among "groups of settled cultivators in the areas drained by the Niger and Congo rivers" in West Africa. Direct images of African deities are relatively infrequent, but masks in particular are or were often made for traditional African religious ceremonies; today many are made for tourists as "airport art". African masks were an influence on European Modernist art, which was inspired by their lack of concern for naturalistic depiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esigie</span> Oba of Benin (1504 AD–1550 AD)

Esigie, originally known as Osawe, was the son of Oba Ozolua, who reigned in the late 15th century, and his second wife, Queen Idia. He was the sixteenth Oba who ruled the medieval Benin Kingdom, now Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria from c. 1504 – c. 1550. Works of art commissioned by Esigie are held in prominent museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idia</span> Mother of Esigie

Idia was the mother of Esigie, who reigned as Oba (king) of the Edo people from 1504 to 1550. Historians do know that Idia was alive during the Idah war because she played a role that led to a great Benin victory. It has been argued that Idia, therefore, was the true power behind the throne of her son. She played a significant role in the rise and reign of her son, being described as a great warrior who fought relentlessly before and during her son's reign as the Oba (king) of the Edo people. Queen Idia was instrumental in securing the title of Oba for her son Esigie following the death of his father Oba Ozolua. To that end, she raised an army to fight off his brother Arhuaran who was supposed to be the Oba by right and tradition but was subsequently defeated in battle. Esigie’s mother became the 17th Oba of Benin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art of the Kingdom of Benin</span> Art from the Kingdom of Benin

Benin art is the art from the Kingdom of Benin or Edo Empire (1440–1897), a pre-colonial African state located in what is now known as the Southern region of Nigeria. Primarily made of cast bronze and carved ivory, Benin art was produced mainly for the court of the Oba of Benin – a divine ruler for whom the craftsmen produced a range of ceremonially significant objects. The full complexity of these works can be appreciated through the awareness and consideration of two complementary cultural perceptions of the art of Benin: the Western appreciation of them primarily as works of art, and their understanding in Benin as historical documents and as mnemonic devices to reconstruct history, or as ritual objects. This original significance is of great importance in Benin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edo people</span> Nigerian ethnic group

The Edopeople, sometimes referred to as the Bendel people, are an Edo-speaking ethnic group. The tribe which is prominent in 8 southern local government areas of the State of Edo, Nigeria, are known as "Edo". They are speakers of the Edo language and are the descendants of the founders of the Benin Kingdom,Ogiso Igodo. They are closely related to other southern Nigerian tribes, such as the Esan, the Etsakọ, the Isoko, the Yoruba, and the Urhobo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benin altars to the hand</span> Type of cylindrical sculpture of the Benin Empire

Ikegobo, the Edo term for "altars to the Hand," are a type of cylindrical sculpture from the Benin Empire. Used as a cultural marker of an individual's accomplishments, Ikegobo are dedicated to the hand, from which the people of Benin considered the will for wealth and success to originate. These commemorative objects are made of wood or brass with figures carved in relief around their sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Benin</span> West African kingdom (1180–1897)

The Kingdom of Benin, also known as the Edo Kingdom or Benin Kingdom, is a kingdom within what is now southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. The Benin Kingdom was "one of the oldest and most developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa". It grew out of the previous Edo Kingdom of Igodomigodo around the 11th century AD, and lasted until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benin ancestral altars</span>

Benin ancestral altars are adorned with some of the finest examples of art from the Benin Kingdom of south-central Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benin court and ceremonial art</span>

Court and ceremonial art makes up a vital corpus of Benin art. Private and public ceremonies mark many of the important moments in Benin’s yearly calendar. In the past, an elaborate series of rites were performed throughout the year to secure otherworldly support for the kingdom’s well-being and to celebrate decisive events in its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronze Head of Queen Idia</span> Bronze sculpture from the Kingdom of Benin

The Bronze Head of Queen Idia is a commemorative bronze head from the medieval Kingdom of Benin in West Africa that probably represents Idia, mother of Oba Esigie, made during the early sixteenth century at the Benin court. Many Benin works of art entered the European art market after the Benin Expedition of 1897 – Four cast bronze heads of the queen are known and are currently in the collections of the British Museum in London, the World Museum in Liverpool, the Nigerian National Museum in Lagos, and the Ethnological Museum of Berlin.

Unuamen also spelt Unuame is an ancient village community by Ovia river in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Unuame is about 15 kilometres (9 mi) from Benin City and 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Benin Airport. Unuame is one of the ancestral homes of Oba Esigie's maternal grandfather and home town to some group of Binis. The people of Unuame have remained loyal to the monarch since the establishment of the ancient Kingdom of Benin. Being a part of the Kingdom of Benin, Unuame is at the heart of the tropical rainforest in the southern part of Nigeria, way to the west of the delta of the Niger River and inland from the coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iyoba of Benin</span> Benins Queen Mother

The Iyoba of Benin is an important female titleholder in the chieftaincy system of the Kingdom of Benin, a Nigerian traditional state. She is otherwise known in English as the Queen Mother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Aruosa Cathedral</span> Church in Benin City, Edo, Nigeria

Holy Aruosa Cathedral is a church located at Akpakpava in Benin City, Edo, Nigeria. It was founded by Oba Esigie and Portuguese missionaries. It is commonly called the church of the Oba of Benin and the elderly Binis. It is one of the oldest churches in Nigeria, which can be traced back to the coming of Portuguese. Just as every Abrahamic religion has a sacred book, Holy Arousa Catheral's holy book is known as the Book of Holy Aruosa which was written by the "wise men with dictate, teachings, and sayings of the ancient Benin kingdom."

Uselu is a densely-populated neighborhood of Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the headquarters of Egor local government area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benin Altar Tusk</span> Series of 16th-century Ivory Artefact from Benin Kingdom

Benin Altar Tusks are ivory artefacts from the Benin Kingdom in present-day Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. These tusks date back to the 16th century and measure approximately 61 inches (1,500 mm) in height, 5.2 inches (130 mm) in width, 4.7 inches (120 mm) in depth, and weighing 25 kilograms (55 lb) according to a sample at the British Museum. The tusks feature carved royal figures in traditional regalia, depicting scenes of power, ritual, and at times, conflict.

Akengbuda was the thirtieth Oba of Benin who reigned from c. 1750 AD – c. 1804 AD. He was the son and successor of Eresoyen, and the father of Obanosa. He is regarded as one of the most powerful and influential obas in the history of the Kingdom of Benin, as he expanded the kingdom's territory, improved its administration, and promoted its arts and culture. He also maintained a strong trade relationship with the Europeans, especially the Portuguese and the British, and acquired firearms and other goods from them. He was known for his military prowess, his diplomatic skills, and his patronage of arts and learning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igbesanmwan</span> Guild of ivory carvers in the Edo State, Nigeria

The Igbesanmwan is a hereditary guild of ivory carvers in the Benin Kingdom, a pre-colonial African state located in present-day Edo State, Nigeria. Members of the Igbesanmwan guild hold the responsibility of crafting ivory items, including masks, tusks, staffs, leopards, and various other symbols denoting royal authority and eminence, for the Oba (king) and the royal court. In addition to their ivory craftsmanship, the Igbesanmwan possess proficiency in working with a range of other materials, such as wood, brass, and coral. This guild is recognised as one of the most ancient and esteemed in Benin, with their artistic work being widely appreciated for its aesthetic appeal and technical mastery.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.