Mende, Sherbro trumpet ( Sierra Leone ), Early 19th century. 25''
Side-blown ivory trumpets have been used as insignia for paramount chiefs in Sierra Leone. This trumpet is
ringed with bands carved in low relief and surmounted by a female figure with a head resembling those of
Sande Society helmet masks wearing a pith helmet and has beautiful neck rings and cowrie shell and more
geometric designs . Carvers of ivory were often woodcarvers who drew upon some of the same imagery in
their creations.
These trumpets were symbols of high
office and sometimes of a hereditary right to that position, since the horns were handed down from one
generation to the
next.
ringed with bands carved in low relief and surmounted by a female figure with a head resembling those of
Sande Society helmet masks wearing a pith helmet and has beautiful neck rings and cowrie shell and more
geometric designs . Carvers of ivory were often woodcarvers who drew upon some of the same imagery in
their creations.
These trumpets were symbols of high
office and sometimes of a hereditary right to that position, since the horns were handed down from one
generation to the
next.