Mende Sowei Helmet Mask, Liberia, African Start Price USD 950.00 Current Price USD 950.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, July 17, 2008 End Time Thursday, July 24, 2008 Location Denver, CO See more about 'Mende Sowei Helmet Mask, Liberia, African' Description Title: Sowei MaskType of Object: Helmet maskEthnic Group: Mende or VaiCountry of Origin: Liberia Materials: Wood Approximate Age: Mid-20th Century Dimensions: 20 Inches Overall Condition: Good with restoration of sideDamage, Repair: Side of mask restoredProvenance: Antonio Zamora, retired after 30 years as curator of the Purdue Black Culture Center. Information: Though many works of art have come out of the Guinea Coast region of West Africa few have as much prominence as the Sowei 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 to soon come as wives and responsible adult members of their village. Sande continues to play a prominent role in women’s lives today among the Bassa, Mende, Temne,Vai, Sherbro, Gola and other peoples of the region. This Sowei mask from the Liberian Mende people embodies the idealized beauty and the precepts held by Sande. The care and attention so obvious in this mask given to details of hair, features of the face and the skill of carving the head and side faces attest to the aesthetic dimension so important in Sande and it’s masks. Though carved by a male sculptor, the Sowei mask is the only mask exclusively danced by women in West Africa. This is a ‘helmet mask’ worn over the head with a dark costume attached to the bottom of the mask completely covering the dancer as she whirls and dances with quick steps showing the spirit and power of Sande. This is an old mask with damage to the side of the mask that has been superbly restored.Further reading:Gottschalk, B. “Bundu”. 1990.Mato, D. and C. Miller. “Sande masks and Statues From Sierra Leone and Liberia”. 1990Boone, S. “Radience From the Waters.” 1986. **035869** All content, including pictures, Copyright Africa Direct Inc., 2006 Add Us To Your Favorite Sellers! Please visit our About Us page. SquareTrade © AP6.0 PesaMember Place a Bid!