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She has been called the 'unknown queen of the Netherlands'. Eight years on the throne is not exactly long. Yet at the beginning of the 20th century, many still remembered Queen-Mother Emma (1858-1934), who had acted as regent for her daughter Wilhelmina in an outstanding manner from 1890 to 1898. This led to initiatives in The Hague to establish a tribute to her regency. The result was the unveiling of an obelisk on Regentesseplein in 1905.

At almost 10 metres tall, the work of art made of granite, sandstone and bronze immediately catches the eye. Sculptured garlands of greenery and fruit with long ribbons decorate the monument. At the front, there is a bronze portrait bust of the regent. Beneath it is the personification of peace with a palm branch in her hand. At the back, the coat of arms of the Dutch Royal Family is carved on the left and that of Emma's family, the Waldeck-Pyrmonts, on the right.

Sculptor Arend Odé worked closely with the versatile artist Abraham Gips, who, like Odé, taught at the Polytechnic School in Delft. Gips painted, drew and designed: from portraits to advertising material, from calendars to furniture, from ceilings to tableware. He decorated his dinner sets with the graceful flower and plant motifs of Art Nouveau, a modern art style around 1900. But he also regularly reverted to historical styles. In the memorial needle, which is shaped like an obelisk, this is classical antiquity.

Classicism dominates the work of art, while some details, such as the ribbons, could be attributed to Art Nouveau. It is difficult to reconstruct the exact contribution of each of the artists. All the parts have fused together: Plaster and the traditionalist Odé have, as one, designed the memorial to Queen Mother Emma.