Acknowledgments

Boone, Sylvia Ardyn

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Acknowledgments

Sylvia Ardyn Boone

Radiance from the Waters: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in Mende Art

~This book is in honor and praise of Sowei, the wise women who are the leaders of the Sande Society. It is they who create the settings and situations in which Sande’s lofty concepts and ideals are translated into a human program for female advancement. I want to express my admiration to the Sowei, and to all Mende women my appreciation for...

Author

Sylvia Ardyn Boone

PublisherYale University Press

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21865

Acknowledgments

This book is in honor and praise of Sowei, the wise women who are the leaders of the Sande Society. It is they who create the settings and situations in which Sande’s lofty concepts and ideals are translated into a human program for female advancement. I want to express my admiration to the Sowei, and to all Mende women my appreciation for their sharing their lives with me. Conducting research on Mende arts on location in Sierra Leone is, frankly, always difficult and challenging. I must acknowledge my indebtedness to the “Bo preceptor” for taking me by the hand and giving me the language tools and knowledge of customs and traditions necessary for successful completion of my projects. He remains my companion and my guardian; so, as would a Mende woman, I bow to him, smile, and say, “Bi siė.” Correspondence with Harris Memel-Fotê, the Ivorian scholar, has inspired and guided my work; I am proud of his continued interest.

My dissertation on the Sande mask, “Sowo Art in Sierra Leone: The Mind and Power of Woman on the Plane of the Aesthetic Disciplines,” was presented at the May 1979 Commencement of the Yale University Graduate School, and was awarded the Blanchard Prize in the History of Art. The three-year period of research abroad, 1975–78, on which that dissertation was based, was made possible by generous financial assistance from several sources. The Foreign Area Fellowship Program of the Social Science Research Council funded the first part of my work in England and later in Sierra Leone. A Dissertation Year Fellowship from the American Association of University Women and a grant from the Ford Foundation National Fellowships Fund financed additional research and then the write-up. The Concilium on International and Area Studies at Yale and the Roothbert Fund helped with initial supplements; and in the wings, blessing my graduate studies, the gracious mesdames D. M., and Simone Withers Swan. To all these organizations and persons, my gratefulness for their support.

Over the past several years, I have enjoyed further opportunities for travel, research, and writing on this and other art historical projects, made possible by a Yale Morse Fellowship in the Humanities and by grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the American Philosophical Society. Again at Yale, the Center for International and Area Studies and the Griswold Faculty Research Fund have given welcome assistance. A special thank-you is due the Department of the History of Art for the generous subvention that paid most of the cost of the illustrations for this book.

To my professor and mentor, Robert Farris Thompson, I owe so much; I have benefited immensely from his example, teaching, and constructive criticism throughout my stay as a graduate student and faculty member at Yale. My deepest appreciation also to the Department of the History of Art, the Program in Afro-American Studies, and the African Studies Council, faculty and staff, for their continued interest in my intellectual and professional development. George A. Kubler, Vincent J. Scully, George L. Hersey, Anne Coffin Hanson, and John W. Blassingame have been especially encouraging.

Many librarians, curators, and collectors have made important data available to me, and I thank them all, especially J. Moore Crossey, who has never hesitated to assist. I shall always be grateful to Rebecca Busselle for making available her remarkable field photographs of Mende life; William L. Hommel and Priscilla Hinckley also were very considerate. There are several others I need to thank for their help: Eugenia W. Herbert kindly read an earlier version of this manuscript and offered invaluable suggestions for its improvement. Anne Granger gave unstintingly of her goodwill and expertise all along the way. Janet Giarratano came to to my aid with typing and other courtesies, as did Michael Bryant. I thank Judy Metro at Yale University Press for continuing to believe in and protect this book. Barbara Folsom, also of the Press, made it possible to get everything right.

It is only left to thank those loving hearts who saw me through. Bernard, Neville, Margaret Ruth, and Frederick were, as ever, sources of spiritual sustenance. The counsellors, K.N. and C.C., were always on call; little Abigail never let me down; and Dr. Jim was so supportive. Arlene Mancuso and Vera Wells helped steady this trembling hand, and Julius I. Rosenthal again came to the rescue—profound appreciation to them all. My soul looks back and wonders. . . .

Yale University Press wishes to extend its sincere gratitude to Vera Wells, literary executor to Sylvia Ardyn Boone, and to photographer Rebecca Busselle for making it possible to present this eBook edition of Radiance from the Waters. Wells is a true champion of Boone's groundbreaking scholarship and benefactor of her devoted mentorship. Busselle kindly provided new high-resolution files of her extraordinary images of women from Sierra Leone.

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