16th-20th Century African Art
This week, with all that is going on, I'm only writing one blog post. However, I found two fascinating pieces, both from Nigeria, which I really wanted to include this week. The first piece is a "Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba" from the 16th century, featured above. This particular mask is one of two, said to be nearly identical, masks which are said to be symbolic. In Benin's court, women were not typically represented, but this mask is said to have been possibly made to represent and commemorate the king of Benin's mother, Idia. In Africa, ivory was ritually used as a material to signify the god of the sea, Okolun, who was associated with purity. Olokun was said to be the "spiritual counterpart of the oba", oba meaning ruler. This was in line with the ivory, and in turn, Olokun, also representing wealth and fertility. This mask imposes a remarkable image of an African woman from the 16th century, and does justice to all African women, with her delicate features, emoting eyes, and symmetrical lips. It's said, on my reference page, that there are mudfish figures carved into both the tiara and the collar, as well as bearded men. However, I found that the figures, said to be mudfish, looked more like elephants to me. What do you think? The mudfish are said to represent the two sides of the king, said to be both "human and divine", as they live both on land and in water.
The second piece that I wanted to share is this African headdress, seen above. Something that I found to be of interest regarding this particular headdress, among others, is that most headdresses that we think of today, especially those belonging to Native Americans, are worn directly fitted onto the head. However, there are multiple ways in which headdresses are worn in Africa. The headdress above is actually worn by fastening them to basketry caps, also similar to Native American culture, which are then placed on top of the head. These headdresses are typically worn during important events, such as initiations or funerals. Unfortunately, there was not much written about this particular piece and its symbolic or artistic significance but I could not pass up the opportunity to show you all this piece. There is a mention of two hunters who had killed leopards, which could possibly pertain to the significance of the spots seen on the forehead on the right, but that is merely a speculation. The reference list on this piece was also sparse and I could not find a copy of the reference book, "Masterpieces of Primitive Art: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection". Though I digress, it is such an incredible introduction to African headdresses and I do implore anyone who is interested to look up other headdresses, like this one, by searching "Nigeria" on the Met's website.
2020. Metmuseum.Org. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/318622.
2020. Metmuseum.Org. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/312522.
When I saw the Queen Mother Pendant piece in our readings I got a good giggle out of the little European men that radiate around the mask. I don't know why I thought that was funny, but it seemed really out of place. Besides that, the hats were cute and I don't think this piece is supposed to be cute. I don't see the mudfish either, but I have disagreed with historians' interpretations of artifacts before so I'm not surprised. I agree with you Jacob, elephants are more likely, but what do we know? I think it's a frighteningly beautiful mask. The bottom piece is just as beautiful, but not as frightening.
ReplyDeleteIt’s really interesting how separate cultures can develop similar religious process independently of each other. While researching for my own post, I came across a modern version of an ancient festival that included amazing headdresses like this one. I’d like to understand the significance behind the different headdresses.
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