Ivory mask from Benin
- Audio guide stop: 183
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Benin City
- Date: 16thC
- Object type: pendant-mask, regalia
- Materials: elephant ivory; iron; copper alloy
- Museum number: Af1910,0513.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is the "Benin Ivory," a masterfully carved pendant mask from Benin City. The mask, made of ivory, features a naturalistic human face with finely detailed eyes, eyebrows, and a stylized hairstyle in low relief. Look closely at the forehead: two vertical iron inlays mark its center. The crown of the mask is a circlet decorated with European-style heads, a symbolic nod to Benin’s historical relationship with Portuguese traders.
Below the chin is an intricate lattice pattern, also inlaid with copper alloy, which suggests the mask’s ceremonial status. Tiny suspension loops around the mask allowed it to be worn as part of regalia. Created in the 16th century, this mask is believed to represent Queen Mother Idia, who supported her son, Oba Esigie, in military and political affairs. These pendants, once part of the Oba’s ceremonial wear, are among the finest examples of Benin court art, showcasing both skill and historical narrative in exquisite detail.
See it in person
Ivory mask from Benin is on display in Room 25 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 183, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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