The Sande women’s society and its men’s counterpart, Poro, are powerful social forces across Sierra Leone and Liberia.Both govern the initiation of adolescents into adulthood and instill the observance of behavioral norms that shape the daily lives of the Gola and their neighbors.

Sande masks are the only wooden masks in sub-Saharan Africa made for and performed by women. They may be commissioned by a ranking Sande member, usually after she has been visited by a spirit in a dream. Initiation and funerary rites for women are the primary contexts in which they are danced, and their design and performance are the subject of friendly competition among Sande members.

The detailed and fantastically conceived coiffure of this helmet mask (ndoli) crowns a smooth, youthful visage with an expansive brow and projecting angular facial features. The organic mass of rounded protuberances that surmount the mask contrasts powerfully with the extensive panels of tight geometric line work that wrap around the head and neck. The exuberant embrace of simple shapes and bold surface design shows a somewhat higher degree of abstraction in this mask than typically seen in ndoli.

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