This figure is exceptional by mere virtue of its sex: in Benin, the depiction of women was almost exclusively reserved for Queen Mothers, with their characteristic peaked, piled-up hair-styles and coral pearls. This figure, too, wears a coral head cover, though hers lies flat against her head and lacks the braided plaits that usually hang down from such caps. The cap and the rotund coral collar - typical of 16 th -century pieces - identify her as a member of palace society, though the exact position she held and the precise meaning of the tablet-like item in her right hand cannot be definitively determined - all the more so given that no objects of comparison whatsoever are known.
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