An unusual female sculpture that bears the head of an Idia - Uhunmwu elao ọghe Iy’ọba - bust. We know this sculpture on Digital Benin as a bronze head and as an altar figure an the Urhotọ (altar tableau) are displayed on an ancestral altar dedicated to the Iy’Ọba, who was usually entitled to an Urhotọ in her ancestral shrine. Just like the Ọba, after her death, an altar was erected in her memory within Uselu Palace and Ọba Palace. These altars would be decorated with a collection of objects related to achievements in life.

We collected a sculpture some time ago that we initially identified as an Ikegobo. However, it seems that it could an Urhoto, although the figure has no breasts. Reference No. XBD140453

Queen mother altar tableaux began being cast in the eighteenth century, a time when court arts flourished once again, after a period of turmoil in the seventeenth century (Ezra, 1992

We are also not aware of any other similar specimen in the literature. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that it is a Queen Mother's head due to the pearl hood and the coral collar.

Uhunmwu elao ọghe Iy’ọba (commemorative queen mother heads) were placed at the ancestral shrine of the Iy’Ọba. Similar to the Ọba’s altar, the Iy’ọba also had an altar erected on her behalf which consists of a commemorative head. The Uhunmwu elao ọghe Iy’ọba are particularly distinguished by the Upkẹ okhokho (chicken beak) hairstyle. Usually, a woman in Benin would only have three suborbital markings, however the Iy’Ọba is shown in many of these objects with four suborbital markings, which would usually indicate a man. This may indicate thato when an Iy’Ọba is crowned, she ascends to a status usually belonging only to men.

There are two main types of Uhunmwu elao ọghe Iy’Ọba, those with a quadrangular block-like base or pedestal, and those with flanges, as seen in other commemorative heads. It is believed that Ọba Esigie (c. 1504–50) introduced the role and title of Iy’Ọba to honour his mother, Queen Idia. It is thus thought that the earliest heads, those with quadrangular pedestals, may date to that period (Ben-Amos, 1995)

In the Benin kingdom, the iyoba, or mother of the oba (king), occupies an important and historically significant place within Benin's political hierarchy. The title was first conferred upon Idia, the mother of king Esigie, who used her political skill to save her son's kingdom from dissolution in the late fifteenth century. Ever since that time, queen mothers have been considered powerful protectors of their sons and, by extension, the kingdom itself. Because of the enormous esteem in which they are held, iyobas enjoy privileges second only to the oba himself, such as a separate palace, a retinue of female attendants, and the right to commission cast brass sculptures for religious or personal use.

Ancestral altars dedicated to past iyobas, like those of past obas, are furnished with cast brass commemorative heads. The heads of queen mothers are distinguished from those of kings by the forward-pointing peaks of their coral-beaded crowns. Commemorative heads of iyobas hold to the same stylistic chronology as those of obas. Earlier heads were cast with thinner walls and display tight beaded collars that fit snugly beneath the chin. Later versions have thicker walls, exhibit enlarged cylindrical collars that cover the face up to the lower lip, and are designed with a circular opening behind the peak of the crown to hold a carved ivory tusk. This head of an iyoba dates from the eighteenth century. While its high collar and pierced crown place it with later examples, the sensitive, naturalistic modeling of the face is reminiscent of the earliest commemorative heads.

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Height: 64 cm
Weight: 12,2 kg