Benin Bronze: Iyoba Memorial Head of a Queen Mother in the Ethnological Museum in Berlin
16th century
“When invaders attacked Benin in 1515/16, queen mother Idia raised an army to save her son, Oba Esigie (ca. 1504–1550). He made her a chief and granted her the title iyoba. When a queen mother or iyoba dies, the oba commissions a head for her altar. The quality of this head suggests it was made for the altar of Idia, the first iyoba. British soldiers probably took this memorial head from the royal palace in 1897. It was sold in England in 1899. Here it stands as a representative of the restitution of the Benin Bronzes discussed in the video statements.”