Dan mask
Rare African Dan mask with two small frontal horns. Masks with animal characteristics embody the life force of bush beings.
Because some are clan outlaws, they are feared and revered as the spirits of ancestors.
Masks representing the leopard, the elephant, the hornbill, a bird of prey, etc. combine anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features.
From a formal point of view, the traditional masks of the Dan (Ivory Coast and Liberia) are characterized by a fairly faithful reproduction of the human face in a spirit of idealized realism.
The prevailing aesthetic criteria are: a very high and slightly domed forehead, a mouth of remarkable finesse, considered to be the indicator of an aristocratic type (and which is observed quite often among the Dan) and finally prominent cheekbones.
This mask comes from the collector and gallery owner Merton D. Simpson 1928-2013, cf. photo.
02497
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Circa 1930
- Size
- 24 cm (35 cm with support)
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood
- Country
- Origin
- Merton D. Simpson, expert - collector - dealer, New York, USA
- Stand
- Included
- Condition
- Excellent
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Rare African Dan mask with two small frontal horns. Masks with animal characteristics embody the life force of bush beings.
Because some are clan outlaws, they are feared and revered as the spirits of ancestors.
Masks representing the leopard, the elephant, the hornbill, a bird of prey, etc. combine anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features.
From a formal point of view, the traditional masks of the Dan (Ivory Coast and Liberia) are characterized by a fairly faithful reproduction of the human face in a spirit of idealized realism.
The prevailing aesthetic criteria are: a very high and slightly domed forehead, a mouth of remarkable finesse, considered to be the indicator of an aristocratic type (and which is observed quite often among the Dan) and finally prominent cheekbones.
This mask comes from the collector and gallery owner Merton D. Simpson 1928-2013, cf. photo.