Mask for Sande Society (Sowei)
Title:
Mask for Sande Society (Sowei)
Date:
Unidentified
Culture(s):
Mende
Medium(s):
Wood and pigment
Dimensions:
15 7/8 × 8 1/4 × 10 5/16 in. (40.3 × 21 × 26.2 cm)
Accession Number:
88.24.8
Credit Line:
Gift of Toby and Barry Hecht, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Location:
Arts of Africa, Third Floor
Broad foreheads, like this example, are said to indicate a woman who is open and fair, with nothing to hide. The mask depicts a female ideal in the cultures in which it is used. This is one of the few examples of females regularly wearing masks in sub-Saharan Africa.
