Dance mask - Dan - Côte d’Ivoire

Wood, pigment

23 cm

Provenance

collection Gérald MINKOFF & Muriel OLESEN

Literature

“The Arts of the Dan in West Africa” – Eberhard Fischer & Hans Himmelheber

This Dan mask presents an elongated face with marked features, carved in dark wood deeply patinated. The high and rounded forehead dominates a tense face, where the orbits are broadly hollowed, accentuating the intensity of the gaze. The nose, short and squat, sits above an open mouth, revealing teeth carved irregularly, almost nervy. The overall expression is strong, almost unsettling, reinforced by wear marks and surface variations that attest to time and handling. The material, smooth in places and rougher elsewhere, catches light unevenly, revealing the brown and black nuances of the wood.