Urhotọ (altar tableau) are displayed on an ancestral altar dedicated to the 

, who was usually entitled to an Urhotọ in her ancestral shrine. Just like the Ọba, after her death, an altar was erected in her memory within Uselu Palace and Ọba Palace. These altars would be decorated with a collection of objects related to achievements in life.

Urhotọ are usually placed on ancestral altars amid other typical altar objects, such as commemorative heads, bells and carved altar tusks. They are usually made up of a square or rectangular cast base with a square opening at the centre. The commemorated Ọba or Iy’Ọba is placed centrally, and attendants, courtiers and chiefs flank them on either side. The bases are usually decorated with a guilloche motif seen throughout the arts of the Benin royal court, and iconographic motifs such as elephant trunks ending in fists, mudfish and ram heads.

Queen mother altar tableaux began being cast in the eighteenth century, a time when court arts flourished once again, after a period of turmoil in the seventeenth century (Ezra, 1992

Urhotọ

The title of Iy’Ọba is conferred on a woman by her son, the newly coronated Ọba, when he ascends the throne of his father. These figures can be identified by the Ukpo-Khokho, or ‘chicken beak’ hairstyle, that was worn by Iy’Ọba in the past.

Ọba Esigie was the first to confer the title of Iy’Ọba on his own mother, Iy’Ọba Idia, and thereafter each Ọba honoured their mothers with the title.

Most of these figures are carved in ivory, however the use of them is today unknown, as no objects of this kind were made or used in Benin City since 1897 (Kaplan in Plankensteiner, 2007

). This illustrates the rupture in knowledge caused by the British invasion of 1897 and the ongoing trauma that continues until today.

Small cast brass figures of Iy’Ọba, most of which appear to have been broken off altar tableaux, are included here as well.

Iy’Ọba

A large number of fragments of objects are known from collections associated with the Kingdom of Benin. Some of these objects may have been broken before 1897 and looted in this fragmentary state. The fact that such objects were also seized in 1897 indicates the extent to which looting took place, extending beyond the largest, most intricate pieces, to virtually anything and everything. Others may have been broken during the military campaign and fire, and some in the years after, as objects moved between museums and owners. Some fragments of the same objects are known in different collections, and it is hoped by placing them together here, more examples might be found.

Fragment

Urhotọ (altar tableau) are displayed on an ancestral altar dedicated to the Iy’Ọba, who was usually entitled to an Urhotọ in her ancestral shrine. Just like the Ọba, after her death, an altar was erected in her memory within Uselu Palace and Ọba Palace. These altars would be decorated with a collection of objects related to achievements in life.

Altar Tableau

The title of Iy’ọba is conferred on a woman by her son, the newly coronated Ọba, when he ascends the throne of his father. These figures can be identified by the Ukpo-Khokho, or ‘chicken beak’ hairstyle, that was worn by Iy’Ọba in the past.

Ọba Esigie was the first to confer the title of Iy’Ọba on his own mother, Iy’ọba Idia, and thereafter each Ọba honoured their mothers with the title.

Small cast brass figures of Iy’Ọba, most of which appear to have been broken off altar tableaux, are included here as well.

Queen Mother Figure

Austria

Website

Online Catalogue

Weltmuseum Wien

Internal Data (ger)

Haas, Georg

Patron

Wikidata Link

Webster, William Downing

Dealer

Donor

Suggestion: The word juju in itself is not harmful in as much as it refers to the belief system. It can be used in a harmful or derogatory way and is context dependent. Please assess the context of this word as a user of the platform.

 more about the background of this statement here.

juju 

Suggestion: Replace with, “a person of short stature,” “little person” or "someone with dwarfism". (See 

Read more about the background of this statement here.

dwarf

Suggestion: Replace with First Nations, First people, or particular community name. (See 

aboriginal

Suggestion: Replace with the name of the particular community and delete where it is used to reference an already identified group, e.g Igbo ~~tribe.~~

tribe

This word was redacted from the catalogue as a derogatory racialised word.

DB_redacted_word

Suggestion: Be as specific as possible in terms of country, population etc. (See 

non-western

western-art

western museum

tribal

hofzwerg

For more information on this term and its violent and inherently harmful context to indigenous communities, see 

British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin, February 1897

expedition

exotic

negro

Suggestion: Replace with the word Africa.

Black Africa

Warning: This word is used in a historic context of a title for a book, exhibition, institution name or book description etc. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. The material within the catalogue does not represent Digital Benin’s views. Digital Benin maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities.

Read more about the background of this statement here

primitive

Suggestion: Replace with traditional healer, spiritual healer, or specific name that particular communities use to define this role. (See 

medicine man

Suggestion: Replace in cases where it used to describe human beings, with the term indigenous communities, first people or particular community name.