An ancient and beautiful helmet mask typical of the Sandé (Bundu) society, featuring a rich headdress with three transversal braided buns and engraved decorations, entirely adorned with a very elegant frieze of fetish antelope horns carved on either side and topped by a removable carved bird. The face is carved with scarification marks in relief, and part of the skirt is made of dyed plant fibers. See for a mask from the same corpus in the collections of the Musée Royal de Tervuren (inv. EO.1970.13.1) from the Mario Meneghini collection. Mende, Sierra Leone Hardwood and plant fiber, small visible chips and accidents, old cracks, beautiful patina. H.: 37cm (without its plant fiber finery) Provenance: Harry A. Franklin, Los Angeles Harry A. Franklin, Los Angeles Transmitted by descent Sotheby's, New York, The Harry Franklin Family Collection of African Art, April 21, 1990, no. 11 Collection Hélène Leloup, Paris, acquired at this sale Transferred by descent