Pendant showing an Iyoba (Queen Mother) with a
gong Edo peoples, Benin kingdom, Nigeria, late 17th–early 18th century
Ivory Length x width: 17.1 x 10.2 cm (6 3/4 x 4 in.) Robert Owen Lehman
Collection Provenance: Early 20th century, brought
from the Kingdom of Benin to England. 1961, Colonel Albert Horton,
England; February 6, 1961, Colonel Horton sale, Sotheby’s, London, lot
152, sold for £ 880 to K. John Hewett (b. 1919 – d. 1994), London. 2012,
promised gift of Robert Owen Lehman to the MFA.
The Zapotec of Monte Albán Their capital city
of Monte Albán was built over a period of 2,000 years, starting at about
900 B.C. Though their early art shows Olmec influence, there can be
little doubt that the people of Monte Albán were Zapotec.
Who during Classic times had the opportunity to develop their
civilization, unaffected by the major troubles that disturbed
Teotihuacán and the Maya at the close of the Early Classic period.
