Sande society mask (sowei)
Arts of Africa
The ceremonies of the Sande society are the only occasions in Africa in which women customarily wear wooden masks. Masks like this one represent the society's guardian spirit at public events such as funerals or the installations of chiefs.
The features of the mask illustrate the group's ideal of feminine beauty, with a broad, high forehead, small narrow eyes, and an elaborate coiffure. The elegant hairstyles also symbolize the importance of social cooperation, since a woman needs the help of her friends to dress her hair.
In Sierra Leone and western Liberia, each town has a Sande society that includes all of the women in the community. It represents them and binds them together as a powerful social and political force. The Sande society is one of the most influential patrons of the visual arts in West Africa.
MEDIUM
Wood, pigment
DATES
20th century
DIMENSIONS
16 x 7 3/4 x 10 1/4 in. (40.6 x 19.7 x 26 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
69.39.2
CREDIT LINE
Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund and Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, by exchange
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Female with European style crown as headdress. Bulging forehead with features clustered in bottom half of face. Large coffee bean eyes with slits, small nose and mouth. Plump ringed neck, small flat ears. Hair is indicated by relief diamond pattern. Crown has flower and leaf pattern surmounted by four bridges joined to a central knob. Holes around bottom of mask for attachment of costume. Crown headress supposedly taken from coins of Queen Victoria.
Condition: Excellent; scattered small nicks all over, rim crack above right ear and at back left of crown.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Vani Sona (ca. 1885–1951). Sande society mask (sowei), 20th century. Wood, pigment, 16 x 7 3/4 x 10 1/4 in. (40.6 x 19.7 x 26 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund and Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, by exchange, 69.39.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 69.39.2_edited_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 69.39.2_edited_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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we welcome any additional information you might have.
Why is this called a "helmet mask"?
It is called a helmet mask because it a two-in-one object -- it's worn on the head like a helmet or hat, but the front covers the face like a mask. It is a term that we can use to describe the object which makes sense to us.
If you look closely, you can see amazing details like the horizontal hair braiding - are you able to see the back at all? If you can see it in the round, you can see the knob-like bumps where each braid ends at the back of the head.
If you look closely, you can see amazing details like the horizontal hair braiding - are you able to see the back at all? If you can see it in the round, you can see the knob-like bumps where each braid ends at the back of the head.
