RARE Miniture Sande Society "Passport" Mask
Tribe: Mende
Country: Sierra Leone
Material: Wood
Size: 6" Tall
These small Mende masks are decorative in nature, produced by the carver for display in the home of a Sande initiate or a Paramount Chief. The members of teh Sande society do not make passport masks, unlike the members various tribes in west Africa,
Carvers are belived to have a dangerous profession, in that the mask sincarnate an aquatic spirit, and the shape of a helmet attracts the river spirit. The helmet masks have an elaborate headdress, as a woman without a head cover represents madness or immorality...rings around the neck signify prosperity or female beauty.
~ see "A Histry of Art in Africa" ISBN 0-13-183356-1 |
