Idia was the mother of Esigie, who ruled as the Oba of Benin from 1504-1540 in what is now the modern-day Edo State in Nigeria. She was described as a great warrior who was integral in the rise and reign of her son who was the oba (king) of the Edo people..I’ve been wanting to do an African royal for a while, but it wasn’t until I saw this Ivory Mask of Idia online that I thought it was one I could actually accomplish. So many traditional African portraits are very stylized as that was the preferred method of depicting rulers (there are only small figurines of her son Esigie, who was the king), which makes them incredibly difficult to work from in terms of creating a realistic likeness. I had some wonderful followers of the Benin/Edo culture help me out on the styling with this one.
Left Portrait: Public Domain, Right Portrait base: iStock photo & Alamy Stock Photos
