Images(2)

Sande Society Helmet Mask (sowei)

Artist Sewa Mende artist

Artist Sande Society

Datemid-20th century

MediumWood, aluminum sheeting, and nails

Dimensions14 1/8 x 8 3/4 x 9 in. (35.9 x 22.2 x 22.9 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of the James G. Hanes Memorial Fund

Object numberG.73.8.25

On View

Not on view

Label TextThe Sande society is a hierarchical, initiation-based organization for Mende women and uses masquerades in the education of new members, at funerals, and in other important occasions. Sande masquerades are one of the few cases in which women dance a masquerade. The name 'sowei' means 'great expert' and is a title that can be bestowed upon both masks and high-ranking society members. Each mask also had an individual name, but unfortunately this information has been lost in the collection process.

The mask's physical features indicate elements of an idealized woman's character, as well as aesthetic preferences. Her small eyes and tight lips signify a woman's ideal calmness. She wears an elaborate hairstyle, demonstrating the care she takes in her appearance. The treatment of the mask's surface with a dark, highly glossy finish is a characteristic typical of sowei masks created in the mid twentieth century.
[Reinstallation text, 2017]ProvenanceRalph Brienen, Hasselt, GermanyPublished ReferencesEdgar Peters Bowron, ed., Introduction to the Collections (Chapel Hill: published for the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, by The University of North Carolina Press, 1983), illus. (b-w) 63.

Introduction to the Collections, rev. ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1992), illus. (b-w) 50.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisitions,” June 16-August 18, 1974.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Becoming the NCMA: 10 Decades of Collecting, 1924-2022," June 11-August 21, 2022. Object Rights Statement

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