Commemorative Head of an Oba (Uhunmwun Elao)

"The Benin commemorative heads, whether brass or ivory, were not portraits but spiritual vessels—each one designed to channel the eternal presence of ancestors during rituals. Their idealized features and hierarchical proportions (large heads, small mouths) embodied the Edo concept of wisdom and silent authority."

— Barbara Plankensteiner, Benin: Kings and Rituals (2007), p. 215.