Female Ancestral Mask (Ndoli Jowi/Nòwo) | Yale University Art Gallery

early to mid-20th century

This type of mask is the only known mask commissioned and danced by females in Africa. It belongs to the powerful Sande association to which all Mende women are initiated. Sande influences the lives of women and acts on their behalf within society. The helmet mask is worn by leaders of the women's association during the initiation of girls into adulthood. It appears at educational sessions during initiation and at ceremonies of the final "coming out." The unusual depiction of three pigs on the top of the mask could have been a deliberate choice by the artist either to make the mask distinctive or at the request of the patron.

Medium: Wood, raffia, and cowrie shell or porcelain
Dimensions: Mask: 14 × 7 × 10 in. (35.56 × 17.78 × 25.4 cm)
Mask with Raffia, roughly: 22 × 9 × 12 in. (55.88 × 22.86 × 30.48 cm)
Credit Line: Bequest of William Siegmann
Accession Number: 2016.119.5
Geography: Sierra Leone
Culture: Mende or Sherbro, Sande association
Period: 20th century
Classification: Masks
Disclaimer: Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Possibly bought by Siegmann in Liberia or Sierra Leone before 1986
Bequest of William Siegmann to Yale University Art Gallery, 2016

Bibliography

"Acquisitions July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (December 1, 2017), 5

Object copyright

Additional information

Object/Work type

ceremonial objects, masks (costume)

Subject

women

Technical metadata and APIs

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