EUR
CAD
AUD
GBP
MXN
HKD
CNY
MYR
SEK
SGD
CHF
THBAfrican Mende Sowei Helmet Ritual Mask
About Seller
522 South Pineapple Avenue
Sarasota, FL 34236
United States
Sarasota Estate Auction specializes in a wide variety of furniture, antiques, fine art, lighting, sculptures, and collectibles. Andrew Ford, owner and operator of the company, has a passion for finding the best pieces of art and antiques and sharing those finds with the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Two ways to bid:
- Leave a max absentee bid and the platform will bid on your behalf up to your maximum bid during the live auction.
- Bid live during the auction and your bids will be submitted real-time to the auctioneer.
Bid Increments
| Price | Bid Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 | $10 |
| $100 | $25 |
| $250 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,500 | $250 |
| $7,500 | $500 |
| $20,000 | $1,000 |
| $50,000 | $2,500 |
| $100,000 | $5,000 |
| $250,000 | $10,000 |
About Auction
LiveNov 2, 2024
Over 1,000 lots will be offered in day 1 of our 2 day weekend. There are multiple lots of modern and contemporary art from mixed medias and lithographs to prints and abstracts. We have art glass sculptures, Herend porcelain, Steuben, Orrefors, a lifetime collection of fantastic estate jewelry, and more! Sarasota Estate Auction sarasotaestateauction@gmail.com
View Full Catalog (1010)
- Lot Description
African Mende Sowei Helmet Ritual Mask. The Mende initiation rite for young women is the only known masquerade tradition where the mask-wearers are female. Sowei refers most specifically to the kind of medicine that female healers/herbalists utilize. Embodied in this idea of medicine is a spiritual force. The mask, called Sowei and worn when dancing, is a visual expression of this spirit. The term also refers to the custodian of the medicine, a Sande official.
Size: 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.
#16 #8114 .
The Mende are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone after their neighbors, the Temne people. The Mende are predominantly found in the Southern Province and the Eastern Province, and are mostly farmers and hunters. The Mende people speak the Mende language (also called Boumpe, Hulo, Kossa, or Kosso), which belongs to the Mande language branch of the overarching Niger-Congo language family. In the 1930s African-American linguist Lorenzo Dow Turner found a Gullah family in coastal Georgia that had preserved an ancient song in the Mende language (“A waka”), passing it down for 200 years. In the 1990s three modern researchers located a Mende village in Sierra Leone where the same song is still sung today. The Mende oral tradition explains their history as a mixture of two people: original members who were peaceful, nomadic fishermen, and their leaders who came later, bringing the art of war and permanent villages. The plight of their people who were sold into slavery is best known from the Amistad incident, which was a crucial step towards the abolition of slavery in the United States. Even in the modern day, the Mende fiercely protect their privacy and ancient traditions, including their secret societies, the Poro for the men, and the unique Sande society for the women, one of the only female-centric secret societies of the African continent. Their art, mostly in the form of jewelry and carvings, are highly sought by collectors, both for their importance to the rituals of the secret societies, and for their representations of Mende culture, mythology, and history.
- Shipping Info
-
SHIPPING INFORMATION·
Sarasota Estate Auction IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SHIPPING! BUYER MUST ARRANGE SHIPPING. All shipping will be handled by the winning bidder. Sarasota Estate Auction recommends obtaining shipping quotes before bidding on any items in our auctions. To obtain a quote, please email info@premiershipment.com. Be sure to include the lot you are interested in and address you would like the quote for. Refunds are not offered under any circumstances base on shipping issues, this is up to the buyer to arrange this beforehand.
BIDDER MUST ARRANGE THEIR OWN SHIPPING. Although SEA will NOT arrange shipping for you, we do recommend our preferred shipper Premier Shipping & Crating at info@premiershipment.com You MUST email them, please DO NOT CALLl. If you'd like to compare shipping quotes or need more options, feel free to contact any local Sarasota shippers. You can email any one of the shippers below as well. Be sure to include the lot(s) you won and address you would like it shipped to. Brennan with The UPS Store #0089 - 941-413-5998 - Store0089@theupsstore.com AK with The UPS Store #2689 - 941-954-4575 - Store2689@theupsstore.com Steve with The UPS Store #4074 - 941-358-7022 - Store4074@theupsstore.com Everett with PakMail - 941-751-2070 - paktara266@gmail.com
-
- Payment & Auction Policies
-
Available payment options
We accept all major credit cards, wire transfers, money orders, checks and PayPal. Please give us a call at (941) 359-8700 or email us at SarasotaEstateAuction@gmail.com to take care of your payments.
-
-
- Buyer's Premium
- Size
11 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.
- Picked up By
Winner (Customer)
- LiveA Cat Code
26415
- LiveA Material & Tech Code
25902
