African Culture

This 16th century ivory portrait of Queen Mother Idia is among The Met's most celebrated works. It is one of four related ivory pendant masks, that were among the prized regalia of the Oba of Benin, among the prestige items taken by the British during the punitive expedition of 1897.

Two almost identical masks are extant: one at the British Museum in London and the other at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Both feature a serene face of the Queen Mother wearing a beadedheaddress, a beaded choker at her neck, scarification highlighted by iron inlay on the forehead, and 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.There are also examples on the same theme at the Seattle Art Museum and the Linden Museum, and one in a private collection, all taken during the British Benin Expedition of 1897. 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 1977, which chose as is official emblem a replica of the mask crafted by Erhabor Emokpae.