Dan - Côte d'Ivoire (No Reserve Price)

A Dan Bugle mask, Ivory Coast, who’s explicit features reveal expressive traits, a thin pointed chin, a protruding mouth carved downwards and hollow inside, pointed nose splitting up into the two eyebrows, two hollowed out eyes, a bulbous forehead, the rims of the mask are punctured with attachment holes; glossy by use, traces of use. Certificate of origin and provenance.

“The border between Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia cuts across several ethnic groups, including the Dan, Wee, Kran, and Grebo. In Dan society, dangerous immaterial forest spirits are translated into the forms of human face masks. Whether or not they are worn, such sculptures are spiritually charged. Male performers, gle-zo, experience a dream sent by the mask spirit that allows them to dance it. In performance, the masks are integrated into the hierarchical system that governs political and religious life.

Dan masks have been documented as the embodiment of at least a dozen artistic personalities. Among these are Deangle, who ventures into the village from the initiation camps to ask women for food; Tankagle and Bagle, who entertain through a range of aesthetically pleasing dances, skits, and mimes; Bugle, who historically leads men into battle; and Gunyege, whose mask is worn by a community's champion foot racers in competitions; once they are divorced from their performance contexts, however, mask forms are difficult to identify. ”

Source: The MET.
“Historically, Dan society vested political leadership in a council of elders. Masks served as agents of social control, enforcing the council’s rules and orders. The masked figures were believed to be incarnate spiritual beings capable of rendering unbiased judgments. The specific functions of individual masks, once removed from their village contexts, are impossible to determine. ”

Source: The Brooklyn Museum.