Lot 67
67
A 'MENDE' HELMET MASK
A 'MENDE' HELMET MASK
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The VAT treatment will depend on whether you have … Read more
A 'MENDE' HELMET MASK

SANDE WOMEN'S SOCIETY, SIERRA LEONE, 20TH CENTURY

Details
A 'MENDE' HELMET MASK
SANDE WOMEN'S SOCIETY, SIERRA LEONE, 20TH CENTURY
Carved wood with rough hewn interior
13 ½ in. (34 cm.) high
Special notice
The VAT treatment will depend on whether you have registered to bid with an EU or non-EU address: If you register to bid with an address within the EU you will be invoiced under the VAT Margin Scheme. If you register to bid with an address outside of the EU you will be invoiced under standard VAT rules.

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Lot Essay

Amongst the Mende the female initiation society is known as the Sande, which corresponds to the male Poro initiation society, and is probably unique in Africa in having a masking tradition whereby a wooden mask is worn and the whole of the body is hidden. This costume is worn by the elder women of the Sande society. All women belong to the Sande society into which they are initiated at about the age of 15. For further information on the subject see R. Phillips, Representing Woman, Sande Masquerades of the Mende of Sierra Leone, 1995. For a comparable Mende Mask see Christie's, Paris, 3 December 2015, lot 28 (€11,250, including premium).

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