Sowei Mask

Although this object is recorded in the Sierra Leone National Museum's original accession registers as being a Sowei or Bundu Society Mask, it is more likely to have been carved as a prestigious gift or display of craftsmanship. The base has a helmet mask form, similar to sowei masks, but this forms the body and not the head of the female figure (with raised navel and weave-pattern scarification marks on the belly). The head of the figure is crowned and wears a necklace around her ringed neck. A second figure, interpreted in the register as a male figure , but more ambiguous, with an elaborate hair style, rides on the main figure's back. The carving was presented to the Sierra Leone Museum by Dr Milton Margai, who was then Chief Minister, and who became Sierra Leone's first Prime Minister after Independence in 1961.

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Further Information

  • Type: Masks, headdresses, Figures, sculpture
  • Object: Sowei Mask
  • Materials: Wood
  • Culture Group: Other
  • Dimensions: 570mm [H]
  • Production Date: Pre 1958
  • Associated Places: Unknown
  • Associated People: Sir Milton Margai (Donor)
  • Museum: Sierra Leone National Museum
  • Accession Number: SLNM.1958.04.07

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