Anthropomorphic head sculpture "mahen yafe" ·  Sierra Leone, Sapi · ID: 3052570

Description

steatit (soapstone),

In a wide area of Sierra Leone and western Liberia, mostly on the present-day settlement area of the Mende and Kono, head sculptures “mahen yafe” were repeatedly unearthed during earthworks. Almost all objects were found by farmers when clearing their fields, digging wells or digging for diamonds.

It is beliefed that the “mahen yafe” were made by the disappeared Sapi people or their ancestors (Schädler, 2009, p. 532) who once inhabited these areas.

Their exact use is unknown. It is speculated that they might have been used as effigy heads or portraits set on the ground or on low altars in commemoration of deceased Sapi chiefs. “Mahen yafe” means “head of the chief”.

The object Anthropomorphic head sculpture “mahen yafe” with the object ID 3052570 was part of the auction Auction 105 on November 15, 2025, lot number 223 at that time and is currently available for EUR 6,000 in Open sale.

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Comparing literature

Tagliaferri, Aldo, Pomdo, Mahen Yafe and Nomoli, Paris 2003, p. 23 ff. Lamp, John Frederick, Stone Effigies of the Ancient Sapi, New York 2018, p. 36