User:Aisu50/Bronze Head of Queen Idia

 Note: change title Bronze Head of Queen Idia to The Representations of Queen Idia 

The representations of Queen Idia comprise a group of commemorative heads from medieval Benin that represent Queen Idia, mother of Oba Esigie (r. 1504-1550), made during the early sixteenth century at the Benin court. The representations of Queen Idia discussed here include the Bronze Head of Queen Idia (British Museum in London), a pendant ivory mask of Queen Idia (Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York), and finally an ivory mask of Queen Idia (British Museum in London).

Importance of Art in Benin Culture
The Kingdom of Benin was powerful, but Benin culture has not been given proper recognition by western scholars. The story of how Kingdom of Benin began as a culture and nation starts with a the origin story: "A motionless man was floating on water and soon the man heard a voice from a spirit that said, 'Open your eyes'. As soon as the man opened his eyes he became one with the spirit. Soon after a whip and snail shell appear beside him, the man then decided to whip the terrain he was on. A golden orb appeared, and this golden orb, which would later be known as the sun, brings happiness and warmth to the man. Again, the man struck his whip to the earth, and this caused forests and wildlife to appear before him. Yet again, the man struck the earth with his whip, and a village full of people appeared. He then became known as the Lord from the Sky. As a result, he ordered the village to build a mound of earth painted white that would serve as a remembrance of his power and creation. He then recognized a man as the priest, and he ordered that the priest must always wear white."The origin story of Benin was not transferred through literature or writings. In fact, Benin as a culture was based on oral tradition: all of the history and stories we know of today from Benin were passed along from person to person from generation to generation. The so-called Benin bronzes (they are actually made of brass) and other artwork are especially important to historians because they are a key part of the history of Benin. Also, the Benin brasses and works of art are some of the only examples historians have of the physical representations of the culture. At first, the city and culture of Benin started off as a kingdom that was based on solely on chiefly tribute. Later on, Benin’s culture and history was enriched and became more powerful because of the conquests they made through war. For example, a war that was detrimental to Benin was the Idah war (1515-1516). The Idah war was a religious war in which Benin won. This war helped to establish the unity and the power behind the Benin Empire. The wars Benin participated in and the people Benin conquered made Benin into an imperial power. It was under Oba Ewuare (r. 1440-1473) that Benin became an empire by launching their military and conquering other lands. This also led to the formation of many trade routes and tribute-paying towns. Therefore, the first Europeans to arrive in Benin were very impressed with the wealth and advancements of the country. Overall, the Benin culture is an extremely important part of history because it is a culture not based off of literature, and it is a culture that had great power before the 16th century.

Queen Idia
Queen Idia is 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.

Idia first entered the royal household because Ozolua, the Oba from 1483 until 1514 saw her dance, and after the dance he wanted to make Idia, his wife. Idia and Oba Ozolua were married sometime before 1504, but historians are not positive on the exact date. As a result, Idia’s parents helped prepare her for her future life in the palace by giving her certain medical herbs. She was known to be very intelligent because she was able to retrieve the throne for her son, and she was also able to protect her son from his enemies such as Arualan (Esigie's step-brother).

Another interesting concept Idia was known for was her “womb of orhue” -- a phrase that meant that her womb defied the odds. These odds were that her son, Esigie, was not first in line for the throne, rather Esigie was originally third in line for the throne. Although in the end, and against the odds, Esigie became the Oba. Ogidogbo, the first in line for the throne as Oba, became illegitimate for the throne because he was crippled due to playing with his brothers, Arualan and Esigie. The people of Benin thought that Idia had planned this because Idia was known to possess magical powers. This also shows how the people of Benin thought that she was able to both wreck havoc and create havoc. This resulted in Arualan being next in line for the throne, but he saw Esigie as a threat. Consequently, Esigie wanted to assassinate his brother. Arualan saw Esigie as a threat because of his mother Idia. Although, the only reason Aruanran did not assassinate his brother was because he knew that Esigie’s mother, Idia, had the skill of magical arts, while Arualan did not. There have been many representations of Queen Idia because Queen Idia represented a key part of Benin's imperial courtly culture. Also, Idia was so influential because of her determination. Overall, Idia was described as a strong willed, beautiful, intelligent, and wise woman.

Representations of Queen Idia
The sole job for the Iyobas, or queen mothers, was to birth and raise the oba’s first son, the future ruler of the kingdom. The job was highly regarded because the Iyobas protected the heir of the oba, and in doing so protected the future of Benin as a whole. One way this idea was represented was in political ceremonies, where Obas paid homage to the queen mothers by wearing carved ivory pendant masks of the Iyoba to ward off bad spirits. Idia had more power than most Iyobas and her role in helping her son gave future Iyobas more power. Idia’s political status as senior chief allowed for her to commission precocious works of art, so she is associated with multiple works.

The representations of Queen Idia below include the bronze head of Idia, the pendant ivory mask of Queen Idia, and the festac ivory mask.

Brass Heads
The Brass Heads of Queen Idia are a group of four commemorative brass heads from medieval Benin that represents Idia, mother of Oba Esigie, made during the early sixteenth century at the Benin court. The four cast brass 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. It is important to note that although these are commonly called "Bronze Heads" because the composition of metalwork from Benin were initially thought to be bronze, and were only later identified as brass; therefore a more accurate description is the "Brass Heads" of Queen Idia. These brass heads are among the many Benin works of art that entered the European art market after the invasion of the British, an event known as the Benin Expedition of 1897.

The brass heads were made using the lost wax casting technique in the early sixteenth century. The image located at the British Museum is a realistic representation of a young woman from the Benin court, who wears a high pointed ukpe-okhue crown of lattice-shaped red coral beads. The hairstyle is referred to as a "parrot's beak" hairstyle and was only allowed to be worn by the Iyoba and the major war chief. Above and between the eyes are two bands that were inset with iron. These reflect the oral tale of how Idia came to be the Iyoba; the tale states that an oracle had told Idia to place medicine on two incisions above her eyes in order to prevent the Oba Ozolua from picking her for his wife. Oba Ozolua then went on to defeat the oracle's premonitions and Idia became the mother of Oba Esigie. When Oba Esigie commissioned these brass heads to be made and placed in Idia's memorial palace, he ensured that they had these incisions in order to honor how Idia came to be the first Iyoba of Benin. Above each eyebrow are engraved four cicatrices. The sophisticated technique and design of the four heads suggest that they were made in the early sixteenth century, commissioned by Idia's son Oba Esigie, and created by the imperial guild of brass-casters that was founded by the previous Oba, Oba Ogolua. Queen Idia played an instrumental role in her son's successful military campaigns against neighboring tribes and factions. After her death, Oba Esigie ordered dedicatory heads of the queen to be made, to be placed in front of altars or in the Queen Mother's palace. The heads were designed to honor her military achievements and ceremonial power.

The British Museum head was presented to the museum by Sir William Ingram in 1897.

Benin and Pendant Ivory Mask
Idia’s face is one of the most well known faces of African royal women. There two extant masks of Queen Idia that are made out of ivory. One Benin Ivory Mask is located in the British Museum while the Pendant Ivory Mask is located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These two ivory masks are almost identical to the each other, and both of these masks were made around the 16th century. The Benin ivory mask is about nine inches tall and five inches wide. Ivory masks were usually carved freehanded with a chisel and a file without a design to follow. Obas paid homage to the queen mothers by wearing carved ivory pendant masks of the Iyoba to ward off bad spirits. The function of these ivory masks was to commemorate Iyoba Idia, and the piece was to appear at an altar dedicated to her. Also, Oba Esigie wore these masks during ceremonies. They were commissioned by Oba Esigie, her son. Historians are able to identify that it is indeed Queen Idia depicted in these masks because of the two parallel lines down her forehead between her eyebrows, represented here with two pieces of inlaid iron. Some have thought that the two parallel lines down Idia’s face were thought to be where she held her magical powers; however, there is an alternate explanation for this. The two parallel lines down Queen Idia’s face were caused by her parents because they did not want her to become Oba Ozolua's wife. They were advised in an oracle that they needed to scar her face to make her less beautiful so that Ozolua would not marry her. Also, her parents had medicinal potions placed within her scars by the divine physician in Benin. These medicinal potions were to assure that Oba Ozolua would stay away. This in the end did not work to repel Oba Ozolua: he sensed that something was wrong with Idia, but was quick enough to realize that she had been scarred and poisoned, so he was able to neutralize the medicine.

The crown on the both of the ivory masks of Idia displays Portuguese soldiers. To the Benin culture, the Portuguese arrival from the seas with great amounts of wealth made them people of the spirit realm who came to bring wealth and power to the oba. The white of the ivory represents purity and is associated with the god of the sea, Olokun. Olokun’s wealth and fertility is the counterpart to the oba. Ivory became Benin’s main commerce commodity following the arrival of Portuguese traders who bought ivory in Benin. Also, along the crown of the mask there are mud fish, which lived on land and lived in the sea, representing the duality of the oba’s humanness and goddess. Overall, the crown represents both the human and the divine. This depiction of Portuguese soldiers also shows us the presence of European soldiers. These masks overall are very important to Benin because they give a physical appearance and presence of Queen Idia. The Benin ivory mask of Queen Idia illustrate Benin's culture and also represent Queen Idia's formidable character. The only small differences between these two masks is that the Benin Ivory mask has a different designed collar than the Pendant Ivory Mask. The Benin Ivory mask has an intricate pattern as a collar while the Pendant ivory mask has the design of Portuguese soldiers. Finally, the Benin Ivory Mask is in better condition when compared to the Pendant Ivory mask.

Current Issues Surrounding the Return of Looted Benin Art


After the British 1897 pillaged of Oba Ovonramwen’s compound in retaliation for the murder of British diplomats, most of pieces of Benin art were auctioned off in London. Today the Benin kingdom, located now in modern day Nigeria, is asking for its art objects back, which are spread across Western Countries such as Britain, Germany, and the United States. In 2007, western museums joined Nigeria in the “Benin Dialogue Group” to open discussion about the retrieval of the art pieces. The movement slowed until the recent wave of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Flyod. Many countries, universities, and museums have returned or promised to return their pieces. With the returning of the stolen work, many worry about the fate of the art, as there is now a battle for possession with Nigeria among three different parties: the descendant of the last oba, the current governor, Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, and the federal government and state of Nigeria. The current oba believes that the royal family has legal claims to the artwork. Critics say that giving the artwork to a single family might not fare well since the royal family no longer has power. Meanwhile, the governor has plans for a museum. Critics argue that once the current governor Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki leaves office in 2024 the museum plans will be abandoned. The state of Nigeria believes that it has the rightful claim to the artwork, but many fear that corruption and mismanagement in Nigerian governments, citing, for instance, the 1973 incident when the head of state at the time, General Yakubu Gowon, walked into the Nigerian National Museum in Lagos and took one of the Benin heads and gifted it to Queen Elizabeth; that piece remains today in the Royal Collection of Britain.