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This small ivory pendant depicts a queen mother (Iyoba), the mother of the reigning king, striking a double gong as she might during a public celebration. The Iyoba is the only woman with rank and authority in the Benin court. She wears a high coral beaded crown, a beaded collar, crisscrossed beaded bandoliers, and a wrapped skirt possibly embroidered with beads and held in place by a knotted belt. Similar pieces in bronze depict a woman with a musical instrument, but this is the only one known in ivory. Bronze ornaments of this size and shape were used to secure and decorate the knot of a man’s wrapper, fine cloth layered around his waist like a kilt. Although the object is thin and fragile, it has a loop in the back that suggests it would have formed a waist ornament for a high-ranking palace official. Today only the king wears ivory ornaments at his waist during special palace celebrations.
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Pendant with a Queen Mother (Iyoba) playing a gong
Royal Ivory-workers Guild (Igbesanmwan) (Nigerian)
Edo, Benin kingdom, Nigeria
late 17th–early 18th century
Medium/Technique
Ivory
Dimensions
Length x width: 17.1 x 10.2 cm (6 3/4 x 4 in.)
Credit Line
Robert Owen Lehman Collection
Accession NumberL-G 7.5.2012
CollectionsJewelry, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Pendants
This small ivory pendant depicts a queen mother (Iyoba), the mother of the reigning king, striking a double gong as she might during a public celebration. The Iyoba is the only woman with rank and authority in the Benin court. She wears a high coral beaded crown, a beaded collar, crisscrossed beaded bandoliers, and a wrapped skirt possibly embroidered with beads and held in place by a knotted belt. Similar pieces in bronze depict a woman with a musical instrument, but this is the only one known in ivory. Bronze ornaments of this size and shape were used to secure and decorate the knot of a man’s wrapper, fine cloth layered around his waist like a kilt. Although the object is thin and fragile, it has a loop in the back that suggests it would have formed a waist ornament for a high-ranking palace official. Today only the king wears ivory ornaments at his waist during special palace celebrations.
Provenance1961, Colonel Albert Horton, England; February 6, 1961, Colonel Horton sale, Sotheby’s, London, lot 152, sold for £ 880 to K. John Hewett (dealer; b. 1919 – d. 1994), London. 2012, promised gift of Robert Owen Lehman to the MFA.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Although the early provenance of this object is not recorded, it is likely that British forces looted it from the Royal Palace in Benin City in 1897. At that time troops occupied the city and seized approximately 4,000 works of art; these objects then made their way to European collectors, dealers, and museums. It is also possible that it left Benin City at a later date or by other means that have not been documented.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Although the early provenance of this object is not recorded, it is likely that British forces looted it from the Royal Palace in Benin City in 1897. At that time troops occupied the city and seized approximately 4,000 works of art; these objects then made their way to European collectors, dealers, and museums. It is also possible that it left Benin City at a later date or by other means that have not been documented.