An ancient female statuette of the Sande society, she wears the apron of the initiation leader, with a richly scarified body testifying to a still very ancient tradition. She wears a headdress, a western borrowing, thus appropriating the strength and prestige of such a garb, under which appear three medallions of a rich braided hairstyle such as Bundu masks can testify. Mende or Vaï, Sierra Leone Wood, old accidents, visible missing parts and cracks, beautiful patina of use. H. 45 cm Provenance : Pierre Langlois, 1975