Benin Ivory Idia Iyaoba Mask 16th Century

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This is a 3D printable model of the Benin ivory mask, and is a replica of the miniature sculptural portrait in ivory of Idia, the first Iyoba (Queen Mother) of the 16th century Benin Empire, taking the form of a traditional African mask. The masks were looted by the British from the palace of the Oba of Benin in the Benin Expedition of 1897. This is a 3D model of the mask kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It features a serene face of the Queen Mother wearing a beaded headdress, a beaded choker at her neck, tribal marks highlighted by iron inlay on the forehead, all framed by the flange of an openwork tiara and collar of symbolic beings, as well as double loops at each side for attachment of the pendant. At the top of the mask are seven figures of Portuguese men alternating with six representations of mudfish, the West African lungfish, while the bottom collar depicts eleven Portuguese figures. The Portuguese, who had only recently arrived in the area, were a symbol of power and affluence to the royal court. Their iconography is identifiable by their long hair, hanging mustaches (often described as bearded), and domed hats. Mudfish were a common theme in Benin royal arts, and reflected the divinity of the Oba. Edo cosmology believed that spirits crossed the ocean to reach the afterlife, where their leaders lived like gods. As creatures who could live on land and sea, the mudfish symbolized the duality needed for the leader's final journey, and this duality represents the seafaring Portuguese as well. I'm happy to share this with you all, as there is so little Nigerian art represented in the 3D printing community. The Met link https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/318622 Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_ivory_mask