West Africa, Liberia or Sierra Leone, Mende peoples, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A helmet mask with a fascinating stylized face: slit form eyes, a fleshy double chin, petite mouth and nose, slitted eyes, and broad forehead with a high domed coiffure of textured ridges, and a bird surmounted at the apex. This mask was used by a female society known as the Sande, and perforations around the rim are used for attaching the rest of the costume to cover the entirety of the body so the identity of the woman wearing the mask is not known. The lustrous patina of the wood symbolizes beauty and health as well as the rich sediment / darkness at the bottom of the river where the Sande spirit resides. Size: 14" L x 9.75" Diameter (35.6 cm x 24.8 cm); 20" H (50.8 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection

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#172458

Old repairs to fissures with 3 metal staples / nails along the rim. Two stable fissures radiating from rim to forehead. Surface abrasions and chips to coiffure and bird. Nice patina throughout.