Mask
Place of originIvory Coast
Mask
Date20th century
Mediumwood
Dimensionsobject: 11 in. (27.9 cm)
ClassificationRITUAL OBJECTS
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Allen Gerdau
Object number1971.86.3
Subject(s)
- heads and faces
Collection
- African
On View
Not on viewCollections
Label TextAlthough all are spirits from the wilderness and given form in the dreams of living men, no Dan mask can be definitively identified as to name or role without data collected in the field when the mask itself was collected, as masks change their roles and names as they age. They may begin as entertaining masks or those used by teachers in boys’ initiations, but with increasing age, they can increase in status and power, as this one probably has, as evidenced by the medicinal materials on the upper forehead. Such masks embody spirit power harnessed to bring both mystery and order to Dan village life. As possible in this case, they may be no longer danced, but rather, are housed in shrines and attended only by priests who can handle their powers, to punish or judge, for example, without negative effects.
