Janusfaced helmet mask "ndoli jowel" of the "sande" society, Sierra Leone, Mende, Size: H: 36 cm (H: 14.2 inch), ID: 3044756

Janusfaced helmet mask "ndoli jowel" of the "sande" society, Sierra Leone, Mende, Size: H: 36 cm (H: 14.2 inch), ID: 3044756 - 2/6

Janusfaced helmet mask "ndoli jowel" of the "sande" society, Sierra Leone, Mende, Size: H: 36 cm (H: 14.2 inch), ID: 3044756 - 3/6

Janusfaced helmet mask "ndoli jowel" of the "sande" society, Sierra Leone, Mende, Size: H: 36 cm (H: 14.2 inch), ID: 3044756 - 4/6

Janusfaced helmet mask "ndoli jowel" of the "sande" society, Sierra Leone, Mende, Size: H: 36 cm (H: 14.2 inch), ID: 3044756 - 5/6

Janusfaced helmet mask "ndoli jowel" of the "sande" society, Sierra Leone, Mende, Size: H: 36 cm (H: 14.2 inch), ID: 3044756 - 6/6

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Lot 91

90.I Tribal Art and 90.II Contemporary Native American Art

Janusfaced helmet mask "ndoli jowel" of the "sande" society · Sierra Leone, Mende · ID: 3044756

sold EUR 2,200

Provenance

Emil Maetzel, Hamburg, Germany

Size

H: 36 cm

H: 14.2 inch

Description

wood, cracks (partly spread with mass), base

The highest ranking officials of the “sande” are known als “sowei”, and the mask is known as “ndoli jowel” (literally “dancing sowei”).

It embodies the guardian spirit of the society and represents “sande” at all major public occasions.

Comparing literature

Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 98

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