Producer unknown to us
Commemorative head of an Iyoba (Uhunmwun elao)
Africa, Nigeria, former Kingdom of Benin
Prior 1897
Brass
Arthur Baessler (ethnologist) bought the bronze from the Völkerkundemuseum Berlin in July 1899
Donation to the Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden by Baessler in 1899
16134
These ancestral memorial heads called “uhunmwun elao” were commissioned by the ruling Oba (King) after the passing of his mother, the Iyoba. They were placed next to the aseberia (altar tableau) on the Iyoba’s royal ancestral altar in the palace of the ruling Oba. They served to commemorate the late mother of the king and to depict the position in court that she once held. Hence, usually after the Iyoba's death, a large altar (a semi-circular mud platform onto which altar objects are placed) was created upon which the uhunmwun elao sits along with a number of other objects and sculptures. The altar serves as a point of communication with the deceased Iyoba as well as to celebrate her life and successes.
Enotie Paul Ogbebor