Kunst

Interiør og dekoration

Smykker og ædelstene

Ure, kuglepenne og lightere

Mode

Mønter og frimærker

Tegneserier og animation

Klassiske Biler, Motorcykler og automobilia

Vin, whisky og spiritus

Asiatisk Kunst og stammekunst

Byttekort

Legetøj og modeller

Arkæologi og naturhistorie

Sport

Musik, film og kameraer

Bøger og historiske memorabilia

De fineste genstande bragt til dig af {name}

Julien Gauthier

A rare Dida mask collected in Divo region, Ivory Coast, with cowrie shells studded hairpiece and a blackened animal-hair goatee, dark to greyish surface, signs of ritual use and age. Incl stand.

In the Divo region, masks are not merely decorative; they function as active participants within performative rituals, often accompanied by dance, music, and chants that contextualize their symbolic authority. The performances may be exclusive to initiated members of a society, thereby reinforcing social hierarchies and transmitting cultural knowledge across generations.

Dida masks originate from south-central Côte d’Ivoire, a region of forests and savannas inhabited by the Dida people, who are part of the larger Kru cultural group. Their artistic and ritual practices are closely related to those of neighboring Bété and We communities, yet Dida masks possess distinctive aesthetic and performative features that reflect their own social organization, cosmology, and values. In Dida society, where political authority is diffuse and consensus-based, masks serve as vital mediators of moral order, spiritual power, and communal identity. They embody forces that inhabit both the human and natural worlds and are central to the regulation of social life, particularly in rites of initiation, funerals, and ceremonies that restore harmony after conflict.

The Dida conceive of the world as governed by complex interactions between visible and invisible beings—ancestors, nature spirits, and bush entities. Masks function within this cosmology as instruments through which such beings manifest themselves. A mask is not a mere representation but a temporary dwelling of a spirit whose intervention can heal, punish, protect, or bless. When a masker dons the costume, he ceases to be an individual and becomes the living presence of a power from beyond the human domain. The masquerade thus transforms a social event into a sacred encounter, balancing the opposing forces of order and wilderness, community and solitude, life and death.

Aesthetically, Dida masks are renowned for their visual intensity and formal experimentation. Their most striking characteristic is the manipulation of surface and symmetry to produce an effect of dynamic tension. Many Dida masks feature bulging foreheads, deep-set or tubular eyes, flared nostrils, and open or grimacing mouths—features that convey vitality, energy, and unpredictability. Others exhibit more restrained or abstract compositions, with smooth surfaces and rhythmic linework. The use of color is particularly significant: Dida artists often apply polychrome patterns in red, white, black, and yellow, arranged in geometric or organic motifs that both enhance the mask’s visual power and signify its spiritual identity. Pigments are prepared from natural materials and activated through ritual invocation, so the mask’s coloration is both aesthetic and sacred.

In performance, Dida masks appear in a variety of contexts. Some are associated with secret societies that regulate initiation and enforce social discipline, while others perform at funerals to honor the dead and restore balance after loss. The dancer’s movement alternates between deliberate, rhythmic gestures and sudden, erratic bursts that signal the unpredictable nature of the spirit embodied. Music, drumming, and song form an integral part of the performance, guiding the mask’s rhythm and marking its authority. The choreography communicates moral lessons, dramatizing themes of transformation, respect, and social cohesion. Masks may also appear in festivities celebrating fertility, harvest, or the founding of a new settlement, reinforcing the community’s relationship with the ancestral and natural worlds.

Dida masks entered Western collections primarily during the first half of the twentieth century, often alongside works from the Bété and We peoples. In European and American museums, they were initially admired for their expressive distortion and formal vigor, qualities that resonated with modernist aesthetics. However, this appreciation frequently detached them from their cultural contexts, reinterpreting them as manifestations of “primitive” abstraction. More recent ethnographic and art historical research has sought to re-situate Dida masks within their living ritual systems, emphasizing their role as active agents of mediation, discipline, and creativity. Seen in this light, Dida masks embody the tension at the heart of Dida life—the balance between social harmony and the vital, disruptive power of the spirits that sustain it.

References

Bognolo, Daniela. Masques de la Côte d’Ivoire. Paris: Éditions du Musée Dapper, 1998.
Falgayrettes-Leveau, Christiane. Art de Côte d’Ivoire: Traditions et modernités. Paris: Musée Dapper, 1993.
Homberger, Lorenz. The Art of Côte d’Ivoire. Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 1990.
Fagg, William. African Sculpture. London: Studio Vista, 1964.
Vogel, Susan Mullin. Baule: African Art, Western Eyes. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.
Zahan, Dominique. The Religion, Spirituality, and Thought of Traditional Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Height: 37 cm without stand

Træ - Rimelig stand

Et træmask - Dida - Elfenbenskysten  (Ingen mindstepris)

Afrikansk kunst og stammekunst

Reservepris

Ingen mindstepris

Køb nu

Slutdato

onsdag

1 marts

torsdag

i dag

søndag

tirsdag

i morgen

28 februar

mandag

Budget

Lokation

Frankrig

Belgien

Holland

Spanien

Østrig

Tyskland

Italien

Portugal

Luxembourg

Schweiz

Danmark

Finland

Japan

Rumænien

Mål

Højde

Bredde

Dybde

Genstand

Stammekunst og -genstande

Gamle skulpturer, udskæringer og figurer

Stammemasker

Figur

Dansemaske

Skulptur

Maleri

Stammesmykker og -udsmykninger

Stammetekstiler og -tøj

Fetish figur

Statue

Tekstil

Stammevåben og -skjolde

Statuette

Skjold

Figur hoved

Musikinstrumenter

Stammebøger, -manuskripter og -kataloger

Vedhæng

Tæppe

Forfaderfigur

Nakkestøtte

Dukke

Oprindelsesland

Mali

DR Congo

Nigeria

Elfenbenskysten

Congo

Gabon

Cameroun

Burkina Faso

Benin

Ghana

Afrika

Tanzania

Togo

Den Demokratiske Republik Congo

Angola

Tchad

Etiopien

Sydafrika

Haiti

Madagaskar

Liberia

Niger

Materiale

Træ

Bronze

Terrakotta

Glas

Kobber

Metal

Sten

Jern (smedet)

Aluminium

Knogle

Læder

Jern (støbt)

Tekstiler

Patineret bronze

Messing

Jern (støbt/smeltet)

Jern

Ibenholt

Muslingeskal

Stål

Fajance

Lærred

Bomuld

Horn

Køn

Unisex

Tilstand

God stand

fremragende stand

God stand - brugt med små tegn på aldring og mindre fejl

Rimelig stand

Rimelig stand -  brugt meget og mindre dele mangler muligvis

Fremragende stand - næsten ikke brugt med minimalt tegn på aldring og slid

Behov for restaurering

God stand - brugt med nogle tegn på slid

God stand, se beskrivelse

God stand - brugt med små tegn på aldring

Som ny

Meget god

Generelt i god stand med tegn på aldring og brug

Rimelig stand - brugt med synlige tegn på slid

Helt ny

Rimelig

I meget god stand

Generelt i god stand

Blandet / flere

Vintage - brugt med synlige tegn på slid

Ekstra tilbehør

Ingen ekstramaterialer

I erstatningsemballage

Signeret af forfatter

Smudsomslag

Tallerkener med motiv

Periode

midten af det 20. århundrede

Slutningen af det 20. århundrede

2000-2010

1930-1940

Begyndelsen af det 20. århundrede

1920-1930

1940-1950

1990-2000

1980-1990

1960-1970

1970-1980

1950-1960

1900-1910

2010-2020

2020+

Slutningen af det 19. århundrede

1910-1920

Begyndelsen af det 19. århundrede

midten af det 19. århundrede

1850-1900

1400-1450

1650-1700

21. århundrede

1450-1500

1500-1550

Certificering

Ingen laboratorierapport

Emne

Portræt

Regional interesse

Reference

Stammekunst og -kultur

Antropologi

Brugskunst (Design)

Illustreret

Topografi (geografi)

Rejse / Udforskning

Popkultur

Mandlige figurer

Biografier og erindringer

Musik

Arkæologi

Historie

Kolonitid

Afrikansk kunst og stammekunst

Denne genstand er ikke længere tilgængeligt, men der er stadig meget at udforske

Et træmask - Dida - Elfenbenskysten (Ingen mindstepris)

Populær i Afrikansk kunst og stammekunst

1230 genstande

Relaterede samlinger