Mende Wooden Helmet Mask

Item Details

Mende, Sierra Leone
Untitled
Carved wood mask
Unmarked

A wooden Mende helmet mask from Sierra Leone. At the end of a young girl’s moral education training period, she would wear this mask with a long cotton costume and a raffia ruff in celebration. The Mende mask features the feminine ideals of beauty, which include an elaborately coiffed hairstyle, slanted eyes, and many defined neck folds. Similar Mende masks can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Condition

- dust and accretions throughout; scratches, dents, chipping, and cracks throughout; some repairs to right ear.

Dimensions

Item #

ITMG073650