Commemorative Head of a Queen Mother (Iyoba)

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This Commemorative Head of a Queen Mother part of the historical collections from the Benin Kingdom, in present-day Nigeria. In 1897, the kingdom was conquered and Oba (king) Ovonramwen banned into exile. The loot from the royal palace was then sold through the art market to finance the conquest in retrospect. Many of these objects today constitute European collections.