West Africa, Liberia or Sierra Leone, Mende peoples, ca. late 20th century CE. A large wooden mask characterized by thin slit-form eyes, a huge forehead, a triangular nose, and a multi-lobed coiffure set atop rows of neatly-incised hair. This type of mask is used by a female society within the Mende culture on important occasions: handing down justice, attending funeral ceremonies, and going through initiation rites. During such initiation rites, the women who are already initiated, the Sande, wear these masks when they greet the newly-initiated as they return from three months' seclusion in the forest. In use, the masks have long costumes attached to cover the entirety of the body so that the identities of the women are not known. Often these masks combine male elements with female elements to show that the women have attained the same amount of knowledge as men. The interior is lined with a raffia band netting. Size: 8.125" W x 13.3" H (20.6 cm x 33.8 cm).
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Erica Weingast and David Axelrod collection, Connecticut, USA collection
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#141356
Condition
Raffia band reattached with modern thread. Small area of repair to left side of head. Minor nicks to coiffure, face, base, and peripheries, with light fading to pigmentation. Light earthen deposits throughout.