Helmet mask (zo gbe - great zo) of West African gum wood blackened with shoe polish; anthromorphic with elaborate headdress; X incised on both cheeks; height 36 cm. Worn as headdress by female member of Sande secret society.
Donor:
Warren L. d'Azevedo
Collection place:
Zodi, Liberia
Verbatim coll. place:
Liberia; Zodi; Kpelle or Gola
Culture or time period:
Kpelle-Gola
Collector:
Warren L. d'Azevedo
Collection date:
1956-1957
Materials:
Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Masks (costume)
Function:
5.3 Objects relating to the Secular and Quasi-religious Rites, Pageants, and Drama
Accession date:
1965
Context of use:
worn as headdress by female member of Sande secret society.
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
height 36 centimeters
Loans:
S1969-1970 #103: Los Angeles Natural History Museum (April 2, 1970–July 21, 1971) and S2009-2010 #7: SFO Museum (February 1, 2010–January 20, 2011)