Minneapolis Institute of Art
Mask
Mende artistLinkedCulture matchlcp-228a9738cf20
- Date
- first half of 20th century
- Medium
- Wood, mirrors, cowrie shell, cord
- Culture
- Mende
- Department
- Arts of Global Africa
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Object ID
- 140024
From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record
What better example than the most powerful queen in the world to inspire young women as they enter adulthood? That is what a Mende sculptor from Sierra Leone may have asked himself as he carved this mask for a female dancer of the all-women association called Sande. Members of the Sande association promote their interests, protect their well-being, and assist young women in their rite of passage. Sande masks are among the very rare mask genres in Africa to be worn and dances exclusively by women. And this particular example, with its European-style crown, represents Queen Victoria, who ruled over the British Empire (of which Sierra Leone was a part) for over six decades, until her death in 1901.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- The Mary Ruth Weisel Endowment for Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
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