Fine African Art Auction
Lot 358:
Edo People of Benin, 19th Century.
Cast bronze, height 21 inches, width 9.5 inches.
In full regalia, usually placed on the altar of a high priest who conducted regular intercession ceremonies and prayers for the Oba. Royal ancestral altars are major shrines in the palace of the Oba (king) of Benin. The current Oba, as caretaker of the shrines and the chief-priest of the cult of the royal ancestors officiates in rites invoking the protection of his ancestral fathers on behalf of his subjects. According to oral tradition, the iyoba ( our: mother; Oba: king) of Uselu, the official title of the queen mother, was established by Oba Esigie (Egharevba)1934-1960) During his reign, he had a portrait head of his mother, Idia, cast and placed in his palace to commemorate her role in Benin-Idah war, thereby including, for the first time, queen mothers in the cult of royal ancestors.
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