ClassificationsAfrican Art

Sowo Initiation Helmet Mask of the Sande Society

Place CreatedSierra Leone, Africa

CultureMende

Datelate 19th-early 20th Century

MediumWood, fiber, metal

Credit LineEx coll. William S. Arnett

Dimensions25 x 7 1/2 x 8 11/16 in. (63.5 x 19 x 22 cm)

Object number1994.004.797

Label TextThis black polished helmet mask is a particularly fine example of the Sowo initiation mask commissioned by the women's fellowship known as Sande in Sierra Leone. Worn by the highest members of Sande, the masks are paraded at the end of a young girl's initiation period during which she is isolated and instructed in responsible womanhood. The sowei spirit - the leader of Sande - is spiritually present in the Sowo mask when it is paraded. During the coming of age ceremony, young Sande women are often referred to as the brides of a male water spirit possessing the mask, hence the mask's dark, shiny (wet) color.

The physical features of the mask are the idealized Sande woman realized. The forehead is broad, indicating a poised woman ready to face any challenge and the facial features are small, with a closed mouth and downcast eyes to denote modesty and respect. The ringed neck-lines are a sign of health and fecundity. The multilobed coiffure, which also replicates a British monarch's crown, is a mark of discipline, order and beauty. A band of cowrie shells is carved into the coiffure. Cowries, used among the Mende as secular and sacred decoration and strung around the headdresses of Sande dancers, were also used as a form of currency in Central and West Africa until the colonial era. Here, the shell motif along with the British West African coin affixed to the brow denote the high status of Sowo.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 1, December 15, 1995 - February 1997
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 2, February 1997 - July 1998
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 3, September 26, 1998 - Spring 2003
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, July 19, 2003 - March 13, 2007
Published ReferencesThe West Guinea Coast: An Exhibition of African Art from the Collection of William & Robert Arnett: Agnes Scott College, Dalton Galleries, Dana Fine Arts Building, Decatur, Georgia, April 27 - May 26, 1975 (Decatur: The Galleries, 1975), catalogue 25.
Michael C. Carlos Museum Handbook (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 1996), 108.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 96.

ProvenanceEx coll. William Arnett (1939-2020), Atlanta, Georgia, from at least 1975.

Status

Not on view

Collections