Terrific MENDE SOWEI Helmet Wood Mask African Sierra Leone, Liberia - Sande 17"

Description

MENDE SOWEI Helmet Mask with Two Serpents on Top
Ethnic Group
: Mende
Country of Origin
: Sierra Leone, Liberia
Materials
: wood, pigment
Approximate Age
: early to mid 20th century
Dimensions
: approximately 17 inches H. x 10 1/2 inches W. The base has diameter 7 1/2".
Overall Condition
: Sende Helmet mask has spent decades on two continents, and has been treasured by several owners. item is in very good shape for its age and has great patina. The original owner purchased mask in Africa.
Solid piece, no unstable or moving parts.
Additional Information
: Though many works of art have come out of the Guinea Coast region of West Africa, few have as much prominence as the masks worn by the women of the Sande society of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Membership in Sande is exclusively reserved for women, for it is the Sande society that initiates young girls into adult status, assuring that the girls are instructed in their duties as wives and responsible adult members of their village.
Sande continues to play a prominent role among the Bassa, Mende, Temne, Vai, Sherbro, Gola and other peoples of the region. The authority of Sande and its protection of the young girls as they go through their initiations and as they are instructed in the secrets of Sande is known through the masks worn by senior women members and leaders of the local chapter.
The masks known as Sowei are embodiments of ideal beauty and the precepts held by the Sande Society. Though carved by a male sculptor, the Sowei mask is the only mask danced by women in West Africa.
is a 'helmet mask' worn over the head with a dark costume attached to the small holes at the bottom of the mask, which completely covers the dancer as she whirls and dances with quick steps showing the spirit and power of Sande.
The care and attention so obvious in mask given to details of hair, features of the face attest to the aesthetic dimension so important in Sande and its masks. In addition, the top of present mask displays a dramatic imagery of snakes to the back and an unidentified figure in front.