Helmet Mask (Sowei)
Attribution follows a published museum catalogue or peer-reviewed scholarship. Object is held in a public collection under a published accession number.
Catalogued by The Art Institute of Chicago as “Helmet Mask (Sowei)”, dated Early to mid-20th century. Harvested from the museum’s open-access record; every field below is copied from that record and none of it has been inferred.
| People / culture | Mende |
|---|---|
| Country | Sierra Leone |
| Common name | Helmet Mask (Sowei) |
| Form category | Vertical helmet |
| Subject depicted | Ancestor or named individual |
| Materials | Wood |
| Dimensions | 48.9 × 28 × 30.5 cm (19 1/4 × 11 × 12 in.) |
Private collection, London, by 1946 [published in "Art of Primitive Peoples" exh. cat., 1946, no. 12b (ill.)]. Ernst (died 2002) and Ruth Anspach, Greenwich, NY, by 1968 to at least 1983 [published in “Anspach Collection,” 1968, no. 3a (not illustrated); “The Innovative African Sculptor,” 1969, no. 4; Bravmann, 1983, pp. 42-43, no. 28]; sold to Tom Slater (Political Gallery), Indianapolis, Ind., by 1997 [this and the following according to personal communication with Tom Slater documented in curatorial file from March 2014]; sold to Robert Laff, Chicago, Ill.; sold to Tom Slater, Political Gallery, Indianapolis; sold to the Art Institute, 1997.
| Collection | The Art Institute of Chicago |
|---|---|
| Accession number | 1997.361 |
https://www.artic.edu/artworks/146941
This record is a catalogue entry, not an appraisal, valuation or legal determination. Nothing here should be read as evidence that an object was lawfully acquired or exported.