Using the Queen Mother Pendant Mask, situated in the British Museum, this essay will demonstrate the contact between Africa and Europe, specifically the trade connection between the two continents.
This pendant depicts the trade of materials, as well as the relationship between Portugal and Benin. It reveals how the Benin people interpreted the Portuguese culture, through visual depiction in their art. It allows our original perception of Portuguese colonialisation to be challenged and reframe our stereotypical idea of African art; The common misconception of our modern society is that African art was ‘primitive’.
This view mainly stemmed from the art movement of the Renaissance – the belief that because Europe had this enlightenment, every other continent’s art from the time was not as ‘sophisticated’. The lack of Western artistic tropes in African art, such as perspective, chiaroscuro, and scale (all skills developed during the Renaissance) all contribute to this idea.
The pendant mask allows for the skill and craftsmanship of African artists to be highlighted and disprove this belief that European art was the superior form.
The pendant was created in the 16th Century CE, in Benin City, in what is now modern-day Nigeria. The Kingdom of Benin was formed in the 13th Century and was established by the Edo people because they did not wish to be ruled by the ogisos, their form of monarchy. The first Oba (King) was Eweka, the son of the prince from Ife, another West African Kingdom, who had been asked to rule by the people of Benin.
It would not be until the rule of Oba Ewuare that the Kingdom of Benin achieved its golden epoch; He developed the capital to its full magnificence, characterised by its imposing vast walls. This development led to the wealth and trade of the Kingdom to be prosperous.
The pendant is carved out of ivory, signifying the wealth of the Kingdom, specifically elephant ivory, and then it was inlaid with iron. The pendant itself is a mask, featuring a detailed human face which was made possible by the suitability of ivory for carving; the hair is carved in low relief, demonstrating the craftmanship of the sculptor, since the curls of the hair are small and intricate with some featuring holes, allowing for depth of the hair.
It causes an illusion of roundness of the head, as it was created to be viewed from only the front. Laying upon the hair, are a row of European heads, carved in an arrangement which makes them appear similar to a crown – possibly establishing the Portuguese role within the culture.
The use of iron inlay around the eyes and in the pupils allows for additional realism, with a naturalistic look, making the viewer feel as if the eyes are staring at them, emphasising her authority. This further highlight the skill of the creator. Just above the eyes are ‘scarification’ marks, purposeful body modification showing status within a culture; they allude to “medicine-filled incisions that were one source of Idia’s metaphysical power”.
The head itself sits upon a ruff of an intricately carved lattice, which had also been inlaid, but with copper alloy instead of iron[8]. Just above the ruff and just above the mask’s detailed ears are two ‘suspension loops’ on each side of the head which demonstrates the practical nature of the pendant.
The pendant is a portrait of the Queen Mother Idia, created for the Oba Esigie who ruled in the early 16th Century.[9] The pendant has suspension loops, so that the Oba could wear the pendant on his waist, hanging on his hip, during ceremonies of great importance. This also shows the significant role that the Queen Mother played in the Kingdom of Benin. Idia had been established as influential on her son’s victory against his rival; Esigie had defeated his ‘rival’ (who was also his half-brother) to be crowned as the King of Benin, by using an army which his mother had prepared.
As well as this, she had an intellectual knowledge of medicine and the people believed she had ‘mystical powers’ that were purported to have greatly helped on the battlefield. Her influence was greatly admired by the people, and she became known as a “great warrior” and was given rights that were traditionally reserved for men.
For example, Oba Esigie established a new position within his court, called the ‘iyoba’ which translates to ‘Queen Mother’ – this allowed her to have political significance, as well as a residence with its own personnel.
Furthermore, her position in the court was equivalent to that of a senior chief, allowing her to commission artworks for ceremonial and individual use.[16]
The heads which are laid like a crown in her hair have been identified as European heads. Specifically, they represent the Portuguese; when the Oba Esigie came to the throne, the Portuguese had made contact with the Benin Empire just over fifteen years prior.
Oba Esigie’s predecessor, Oba Ozolua, who was his father, had organised for Esigie to have a Portuguese tutor. This is because he believed the Portuguese were very politically influential, and his son being educated by this European political heavyweight would be beneficial for the future prospects of Benin.
This led to Oba Esigie, once he had taken over from his father, attempting to establish a deeper relationship with Portugal; The result of this was that the Portuguese were welcomed into the ‘everyday life’ of Benin.
He officially established diplomatic ties with the Portuguese, which included sending ambassadors from Benin to Portugal, as well as setting up a school for his people to learn to read and write Portuguese. This level of education was very ‘forward-thinking’ and would nurture the relationship between the two cultures further, as well as assist with any other future European encounters.
The placement of the Portuguese traders arranged like a crown on the Queen Mother’s head shows the status of the Portuguese in the eyes of the Oba. Since the pendant is only worn during important ceremonies it demonstrates how highly regarded within the Kingdom that the Portuguese were viewed.
This is a palpable object which clearly demonstrates the influence of the relationship between the Portuguese and the Kingdom of Benin. One of the most significant members of the Benin Empire (The Queen Mother) is wearing European heads upon her crown, highlighting the two culture’s alliance and the importance of this.
Although the Portuguese are featured, they are still small in scale in comparison to the Queen Mother’s head, stamping her authority and status. As well as this, she is wearing the Portuguese, almost as if she controls them.
The pendant is carved out of elephant ivory, which had been one of the earliest materials that Africa had traded with Europe. In Benin, Ivory is thought to have “material and symbolic value”. Not only did it bring wealth to the Kingdom, but the white colour of the ivory symbolised “ritual purity”, as well as being associated with Olokun, the God of the Sea in the Yoruba religion.
It was believed to be a “source of extraordinary wealth and fertility”. Olokun was considered to be “the spiritual counterpart of the Oba”. Prior to the diplomatic relationship between Benin and Portugal, the first European shipments from the West African ports (and rivers) had included enslaved African people, along with elephant tusks, showing the long history of ivory trade within Africa.
The Kingdom of Benin had a well-established group of merchants which allowed the Portuguese to have easy access to many West-African goods, such as cloth and stone beads, which the Portuguese traded with modern-day Ghana for gold.
This, therefore, was beneficial for the Oba since he now had easier access to valuable goods from West Africa for his own court, with the European merchants acting as the ‘middlemen’.
This relationship of trade between the Oba and the Portuguese was mutually beneficial for both cultures, as well as being highly significant for the further development of the relationship between the continents of Africa and Europe. Most of the ivory goods, such as spoons, hunting horns, and saltcellars, that were exported from Africa to Europe had been intricately carved by African artisans, developing the idea of commissioning art specifically for the European market.
This trade created significant wealth for the Kingdom, establishing a lucrative income by selling its gold, ivory, and pepper to the Portuguese, as well as partaking in the West African slave trade, by selling slaves to the Europeans.
The Benin Kingdom was renowned for its artists, especially under the rule of Oba Esigie due to his investment in the arts. The artists of Benin were known for their ability to use different types of materials, such as brass, wood, and ivory.
Moreover, they were particularly famous for relief sculptures, a skill which is displayed on the hair of the pendant, and ‘life-sized head sculptures’. This gift for the arts was nurtured under the rule of Oba Esigie, with their skill being expanded into a very “refined style of naturalised idealism” which is shown in the pendant.
The pendant itself is one of five “stylistically similar” ivory hip pendants, all of which were made specially for the use of the Oba during the 16th Century. Only three of these masks are on display in public collections, featured in the UK, the USA and Nigeria.
The pendant exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is almost identical to the pendant in the British Museum, with curation notes going as far to describe them as “a pair of nearly identical works”.
The main difference between the two pendants is the European heads featured on the Queen Mother’s head. On the pendant in New York, the European heads are interrupted by mudfish. The mudfish are thought to symbolise the Oba’s “dual nature as human and divine” due to mudfish having an amphibious nature; letting them be able to live in the water as well as the land.
Mudfish were also chosen to be featured along with the Portuguese; it was believed that because the Portuguese came from ‘across the seas’ they were from “the spirit realm which brought wealth and power to the oba” Other than the alternating Portuguese heads and mudfish, the pendant’s are almost exactly the same.
The existence of there being five pendant masks, but all separated begs the question of what happened? How did two of the masks end up in two of the most famous artistic institutions in the world? It was noted that these pendant-masks were discovered in a hiding place in the Oba’s bedchamber during a looting in 1897 by the British, specifically by Sir Ralph Moor.
From 1892 to 1902 Britain received a lot of resistance during their operation to take the in-land territories under their control. It was during this campaign that the British stormed the Palace in 1897 and completely raided it.
Most of the objects taken during this time were gifted to the British Museum, with almost 200 artefacts being sent. The other objects not sent to the British Museum were retailed on the international market. This most likely explains how some of the pendant masks ended up in private collections across the world.
One of the pendants on public display is at Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, where it was donated (perhaps sold, or exchanged) in 1950.
Furthermore, all the pendants on display in Museums were purchased from private collectors. The pendant mask at the British Museum was acquired from Professor Charles Gabriel Seligman in 1910. The pendant on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was likely donated from a private collection where it had previously been bought on the international art market in 1969.
The way that these pendant masks were distributed across the world away from Africa, shows the darker side of the contact between Africa and Europe. The English and Dutch had arrived at Benin in the latter half of the 16th Century.
By this time, Benin had already been very active in trade (mainly due to their diplomatic relationship with Portugal) and so could easily establish a new trading relationship with the Dutch and the English.
The British had engaged in several wars to take complete control of Nigeria and force it under the British Empire’s rule. The previously mutually beneficial relationship that Benin had established with Europe was now sullied.
Even though the Portuguese had left the Kingdom of Benin in the 1550s, their memory and influence had lasted, appearing in Benin art for years after their departure. For example, figure 6 was created in the 18th Century and features a Portuguese man sitting down – this is surprising since the Portuguese had left the Kingdom of Benin in the 1550s.
However, this is a perfect example of the impact that the Portuguese had of the people of Benin. This statue would have been placed on the royal ancestral altars that were within the Palace. This important position further shows how the Benin people viewed the Portuguese, with them still being venerated in this way so many years later.
However, in the 19th Century, when travel became far more accessible, the Europeans who chose to venture to Benin, purposefully wrote of Benin poorly. This was especially prominent in the negative writings of Richard Burton; He visited Benin in 1862 and his ‘findings’ were widely read in England. In his book, Benin and the Europeans 1485-1897, A.F.C Ryder, writes that he believes that this was due to an increase in racial intolerance in England during this century, as well as a poor reaction to the ritual human sacrifice that occurred in Benin.
It could also be believed that negative views of a Kingdom could lead to its weakening and therefore would be more susceptible to succumbing to a complete takeover, as happened with Benin being ruled by the British. These negative publishings from the English would lead to a decline in Benin’s wealth and reputation, and eventual relinquish of control to the British Empire.
The contact between Africa and Europe has been a long and fruitful relationship, specifically between the Kingdom of Benin and Portugal. The initial contact was brief, however, over time it became more mutually beneficial, leading to diplomatic relations.
The relationship can be seen through the Edo pendant mask featured throughout this essay, with the European heads on the hair of the Queen Mother demonstrating how highly the Portuguese were viewed by the people of Benin.
The diplomatic relationship between Benin and Portugal lasted just under a hundred years, and yet had a long-lasting impact on the people of Benin – with the Portuguese being heavily featured in the art, even years after they had left Africa.
The Edo pendant mask in the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art shows not only the relationship between Benin and Portugal, but also the negative relations between Benina and the British, with the multiple wars waged between the two cultures, and bountiful looting by the British.
This is how the pendant masks ended up in the museums, because they were purchased through the international art market, after they had been initially sold by the British in the raids.
Therefore, the pendant mask not only shows the positive relationship between Africa and Europe, but also the negative relationship – demonstrating that the contact between the two continents had vastly changed over the centuries.
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