An exceptional and very old statue representing two young female initiates of the Sandé secret society (also commonly known as Bundu, from the same name as the female initiates' helmets), their arms crossed behind their backs as a sign of support, protection and solidarity. They are depicted with all the marks, signs and symbols of initiation: they have significant scarification marks on their breasts, abdomens and faces; their necks are laced, forming bulges symbolizing beauty and good health, but also rebirth (an analogy with the chrysalis); they each wear a necklace and an amulet attached to their arms, two attributes delivered at initiation; and finally, their sophisticated braided hairstyles, like their ringed necks, are reminiscent of the famous Bundu initiation masks, a phenomenon unique throughout Africa. The Sandé (or Bundu) secret society is the female counterpart of the Poro secret society for men, and it's because the Sandé initiation society for young girls among the Mende is really a secret society that very little is known about the use and role of ancient statues such as this one; and even if the Bundu society has become popular among many of its Temne, Gola, Vai, Sherbro, Bullom neighbors, right up to the Bassa of Liberia, the secret has persisted. However, two types of Mende sculpture can be distinguished: statues of women sculpted in bust form, which are cult objects acting as intermediaries with Hale (The Force that resides in everything) and which were used for protection and divination by one of the three secret Mende societies called Yassi, and those sculpted in foot form, which, according to B. Gottschalk, are sculptures of Hale (The Force that resides in everything) and which were used for protection and divination by one of the three secret Mende societies called Yassi. Gottschalk, prestige sculptures. They are often referred to in specialized literature as Minsereh, after the English antiquarian Oldmann bought the collection of Thomas J. Alldrige, who stayed with the Sherbro and Bullom families on the Sierra Leone coast and published The Sherbro and Its Hinterland in 1901, but Alldrige never reached the interior of Mende country. This work comes from the collection of Mario Meneghini, unquestionably the most passionate and knowledgeable connoisseur of the ancient arts of Liberia and Sierra Leone. It was one of his favorite works and a landmark in his collection. He acquired it in 1979 in Monrovia, and it still bears its orange dot labels, this one (M35) being the thirty-fifth Mende object he bought. Back in Italy, there was no doubt in Mario Meneghini's mind that this sculpture was indeed by a Mende artist and not a Temne, as has been commented (the Temne emphasize the domed forehead of sculptures and masks) and the radically horizontal cut under the buttocks was for Mario Meneghini one of the obvious characteristics of Mende statuary art, yet this aspect is also found on works collected early on by Alldridge from the Sherbro and Bullom families. The great age of this work is visible at first glance in its exceptional lacquered black patina (characteristic of Mende masks and sculptures made from a kind of vegetable "bitumen" of coal black and other secrets) but also in the deep wear and tear, evidence of its many manipulations. This rare age for a Mende work, already clearly mentioned by Mario to his friend Aldo Tagliaferri, who wrote the book on his collection in 2006, was confirmed by a carbon 14 test commissioned in 2019 by the Musée du Quai Branly, which very clearly wanted to acquire it, but history decided otherwise. Provenance : Mario Meneghini Collection, Commabio Italy, acquired in 1979 in Monrovia Liberia (#M35) Transmitted by descent Chantal Dandrieu Giovagnoni, Rome 2021 Collection Jean-Claude and Christine L'Herbette, Paris Publications and exhibitions : Meneghini and Tagliaferri, Collecting African Art in Liberia and Neighboring Countries 1963-1989, 2006, p. 163, #146 Cossa and Paudrat, Passion d'Afrique. African Art in Italian Collections, 2009, p. 76, #28 WE INVITE YOU TO DISCOVER THE FULL DESCRIPTION IN THE PDF CATALOG