This mask is from the early sixteenth century and the mask symbolizes the legacy of the dynasty. During this time period in Benin, it was very rare to have an image of women. This mask was made for the king to honor his mother, which is why it was so rare and important. The color of the mask is ivory and represents ritual purity that they associate with the god of the sea, Olokun. The mask itself was known to attract Portuguese traders who brought wealth to Benin. There was a great relationship between the Edo people and the Portuguese. On the crown of the mask, there are knots that are meant to symbolize Portuguese merchants. The Portuguese merchants also represent the voyages that traveled to Benin. On the forehead of the mask, there are mudfish which represent the king's dual nature as being human and being divine. The mudfish were very important because they could live in water and on land. To the people of the Benin family, this mask represented how the dynasty was kept alive for so many years. The mothers of the family were in charge of raising the future king, with that comes a great deal of responsibility. That is why the mask was so important because it represented the strong women of the family and how it shows through the king, and to the people of Benin City. 

Sources

Dr. Christa Clarke, "Queen Mother Pendant Mask (Iyoba) (Edo peoples)," in Smarthistory, October 10, 2016, accessed February 26, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/queen-mother-pendant-mask-iyoba/.

 ASIA: MODULE 4

When looking at self-portraits there are many different ways of interpreting them. Duerer painted his self-portrait at the age of 28 and was already famous throughout the world. His painting has an extreme amount of detail, from his hair all the way to the fine lines on his face. Duerer also engraved "“ I, Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg have portrayed myself in my own paints at the age of twenty-eight.”In this time frame, many paintings that were straight on were only of religious artwork, and it was pointed out in many different articles that Duerer resembles Jesus Christ. I think that this painting was painted to look like Christ. If you look at his fingers they almost t make out the letters A.D. which is Duerer's initials and it is one thing he also put on all of his paintings. The fur on his coat was commonly used to make paintbrushes during this time so therefore he may be saying that it was the painting that got him to where he was. 

The portrait of Sin Sukju reveals that he is a higher power because of the clothes he is dressing in. He is dressed in official robes and a black silk hat. There is also a significant amount of detail in the picture the way he sitting exudes wisdom and dignity. There is also a lot of detail in the way his robe is laying on his lap. You can see every crease that is there and under his feet, he has a pedestal that signifies he is of a higher power. Both of these portraits together show similarities to religious artworks, from the clothes they wear to the way they are posed in the paintings. 

Sources 

Dr. Kristen Loring Brennan, "Portrait of Sin Sukju," in Smarthistory, November 22, 2015, accessed    

    February 12, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/portrait-of-sin-sukju/.

Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, "Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait(1500)," in Smarthistory, December 

    9, 2015, accessed February 12, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/albrecht-durer-self-portrait-1500/.