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Finial Figure from a Bondo (Bundu) Society Staff

Culture Temne
Title Finial Figure from a Bondo (Bundu) Society Staff
Date Unknown
Medium Wood, beads, and and fiber
Dimensions Object: 17 1/2 × 3 1/4 × 2 15/16 in. (44.5 × 8.3 × 7.5 cm)
Overall (includes mounts): 19 1/4 × 3 3/4 × 3 5/16 in. (48.9 × 9.5 × 8.4 cm)
Credit Line Gift of Mr. Ernst Anspach, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 72.30.2

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About this Work

Women of the associations variously known as Sande, Bondo, and Bundu, mostly located in Sierra Leone and Liberia, are among the few examples of females regularly wearing masks in sub-Saharan African. The masks and other paraphernalia of the associations, which are charged with the initiations of girls into adulthood, depict the female ideal in these cultures. Broad foreheads, for example, are said to indicate a woman who is open and fair, with nothing to hide.


Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Finial Figure from a Bondo (Bundu) Society Staff | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=72.30.2