This Ikegobo (altarpiece) comes from the Kingdom of Benin, now southern Nigeria, in West Africa, specifically its capital, Benin, a city known for its centuries-old tradition of metal castings using complex and highly skilled techniques. Only royalty and privileged chiefs owned these pieces and all were men with one exception – the Iyoba (Queen Mother of the Edo people), who is celebrated in the Ikegobo at the Barber. Iyobas were the only women to occupy positions of power in traditional society and to commission and be honoured by these important altarpieces. The Ikegobo is cylindrical with the Iyoba, the largest figure, flanked by her six attendants – two females and one male to each side. The Iyoba wears an elaborate headdress covered with coral beads called ‘the chicken’s beak’; such beads would have been imported and considered a royal privilege.