Sande society mask (sowei)
Mende, The Nguabu Master
Arts of Africa
CULTURE
Mende
ARTIST
The Nguabu Master
MEDIUM
Wood, pigment, metal
DATES
late 19th–early 20th century
DIMENSIONS
15 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. (39.4 x 23.5 x 26 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Arts of Africa
ACCESSION NUMBER
74.64
CREDIT LINE
Carll H. de Silver Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Wooden helmet mask of a human head. Its neck is enlarged with rolls of fat. There are holes around the base for attachments. The eyes are coffee bean in shape with slits through their centers. Four verticle scarification marks appear under each eye. The elaborate headress consists of eight flap-like forms secured at the center with a band.The headdress is topped by a mushroom-like ornament with frets and other decorative work.
Condition: A vertical crack runs from base of mask to head band at back center and includes a triangular 1 3/4 hole below band.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Mende. Sande society mask (sowei), late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, pigment, metal, 15 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. (39.4 x 23.5 x 26 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund, 74.64. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 74.64_edited_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 74.64_edited_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
