Mask - Mali (No reserve price)

passport mask - Baoulé - Ivory Coast
Miniature masks, also called 'passport masks,' are carved to welcome the ancestral spirits, just like the great masks.

Their main function is to protect the person who wears it, especially against sorcery.

But it can also be used for divination or as an altar object for which offerings may be made.

Finally, it helps attest the rank of its wearer, as well as their lineage, in regions where it is not known. Hence the name passport mask.
According to Barbara C. Johnson's book "Four Dan sculptors," page 15.