Mende and Nguabu Master
Sande Society Helmet Mask (Ndoli Jowei)
Mende, 1919-1948
Scroll
Physical Qualities
Wood, 15 13/16 x 8 3/8 x 10 1/4 in. (40.1 x 21.3 x 26 cm.)
Credit Line
Purchased as the gift of Helen and Howard Benedict, Tiburon, California, in Memory of Alan and Janet Wurtzburger
Object Number
1984.50
The demurely lowered eyelids and full eyebrows, shaped like two echoing crescents, and the subtle, expressive carving identify these sculptures as works of the Nguabu Master. Although we do not know his name, the Nguabu Master was one of the best sculptors of his day, working in or around the town of Nguabu during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A prolific artist, his works can be seen in the Brooklyn Museum, the Zurich Ethnographic Museum, and in private collections.
The inventive additions to the top of each mask reflect imagery from the songs and sayings used in Sande instruction, which vary from village to village. The turtle on the Sande mask at right has withdrawn into his shell. In some villages, this is a metaphor for a woman’s reserve, as well as an allusion to the water spirits associated with Sande. The meaning of the bird on the mask at left is not as clear, but it may also provide a visual reminder of proper feminine behavior as taught by Sande.
Field photo:
Photograph: Frederick Lamp, 1976
purchased from Alpha Sadu Thiam, Monrovia, Liberia
African Reinstallation, "The Artist," Apr 2015, Wurtzburger Galleries, Kathryn Gunsch.
Frederick John Lamp, "See the Music Hear the Dance: Rethinking African Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art." New York: Prestel, 2003, p.175, ill.
BMA. African Spirit Series brochure 2004-2005. ill.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.
