ID: 700000182 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700000182	Record Type: Movable Work
Images: 1 2 3

Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba (mask (costume); unknown Nigerian Edo, for Oba Esigie (King of Benin, 1404-15...; early 16th century; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City, New York state, U...; 1978.412.323)

Note: Believed to have been produced in the early sixteenth century for the Oba Esigie (1404-1550), the king of Benin, to honor his mother, Idia. The Oba may have worn it at rites commemorating his mother. Each year the Oba (king) of Benin performs in rituals in which he honors his royal ancestors to enhance the good fortunes of his people. This type of mask was worn by the Oba, probably around his neck, during the the Emobo ceremony, main purpose is for the Oba to drive away any evil forces. 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".

Titles:

Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba (preferred,C,U,RP,English-P,U,U)

Pendant Mask: Iyoba (C,U,English,U,U)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

mask (costume) [300138758] (preferred)

..... (Objects Facet, Furnishings and Equipment (hierarchy name), Costume (hierarchy name), costume (mode of fashion), <costume by function>)

sculpture (visual works) [300047090]

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>)

Classifications:

costume / clothing (preferred)

sculptures

African art

Creation Date: early 16th century

Creator Display:

unknown Nigerian Edo, for Oba Esigie (King of Benin, 1404-1550) [preferred,VP]

carver unknown Nigerian (Nigerian cultural designation) [500203942]

patron Oba Esigie (king of Benin, active early to mid-16th century) [500350193]

Locations:

Other: Creation: Benin [7348568] Africa (continent), World (facet) (Geographic)

Current: Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City, New York state, United States) [500125157] Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Repository Numbers: 1978.412.323

Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1972

Display Materials: ivory, iron, and copper (?)

	ivory (material) [300011857]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, combination inorganic/organic material, combination inorganic/organic animal material, <bone and bone components materials>, bone (material), <bone by form as material>, <tooth and tooth components as materials>, <tooth components as material>, dentin (material))

	iron (metal) [300011002]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material, metal, <metal by composition or origin>, <iron and iron alloy>)

	copper (metal) [300011020]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material, metal, <metal by composition or origin>, nonferrous metal, <copper and copper alloy>)

Dimensions: 23.8 x 12.7 x 8.3 cm (H. 9 3/8 x W. 5 x D. 3 1/4 )

Cultures:

African (preferred)

Style/Period/Group/Movement:

	Edo (African culture) [300018564] (preferred,N/A)
	.....(Styles and Periods Facet, Styles and Periods (hierarchy name), <styles| periods| and cultures by region>, African (general| continental cultures), <African by cultural or regional designation>, West African (general), Southern Nigerian styles, Edo-speaking cultures)

General Subject:

religion and mythology (preferred)

apparel

human figures

Specific Subjects:

	human females [300025943]
	.....(Agents Facet, People (hierarchy name), people (agents), <people by gender or sex>) (AAT)

	face (animal component) [300251798]
	.....(Objects Facet, Components (hierarchy name), components (objects parts), <components by specific context>, biological components, animal components) (AAT)

	ceremonial object [300234117]
	.....(Objects Facet, Object Genres (hierarchy name), object genres (object classifications), <object genres by function>) (AAT)

	mudfish [300257145]
	.....(Agents Facet, Living Organisms (hierarchy name), living organisms (entities), Eukaryota (domain), Animalia (kingdom), Chordata (phylum), Vertebrata (subphylum), Osteichthyes (class)) (AAT)

Provenance: Sir Ralph Moor, Benin City, Nigeria, and his family, ca. 1897–1909; Prof. Charles Gabriel Seligman, Oxford, U.K., 1909–(d.) 1940; his wife, Brenda Z. Seligman, London, 1940–1958; Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, 1958, on loan to The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1958–1972; The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1972–1978

Related Works:

	companion piece of .... Benin Ivory [700000183]
	..........mask (costume); unknown Beninese; early 16th century; British Museum (London, Greater London, England, United King...; Af1910,0513.1; Ethno 1910.5-13.1

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

.......... Movable Works by class: decorative and utilitarian works

Sources and Contributors:
Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba	........ [VP]
	........ Metropolitan Museum of Art [online] (2001-) accessed 31 January 2018
Pendant Mask: Iyoba	........ [VP]
	........ Metropolitan Museum of Art [online] (2001-) accessed 2 March 2011

Subject: ....... [VP]

Note:
English	..... [VP]
	..... Metropolitan Museum of Art [online] (2001-) accessed 10 March 2005
	..... British Museum [online] (1999-) accessed 10 March 2005