KRAN, Liberia/Ivory Coast
KRAN, Liberia/Ivory Coast Wood, dark patina from use, fibers, plant materials. A dance mask with expressive features and a sculpture that powerfully evokes ancient rituals. The overhanging forehead is encircled by the tips of protective fetish horns—now eroded—while the tubular eyes and wide-open mouth are veiled by a fiber mustache secured with plant resin. This ancient mask served as an instrument of social control within Poro society. First third of the 20th century. H. 25 cm. W. 15.5 cm. Traces of erosion and restoration.
KRAN, Liberia/Ivory Coast Wood, dark patina from use, fibers, plant materials. A dance mask with expressive features and a sculpture that powerfully evokes ancient rituals. The overhanging forehead is encircled by the tips of protective fetish horns—now eroded—while the tubular eyes and wide-open mouth are veiled by a fiber mustache secured with plant resin. This ancient mask served as an instrument of social control within Poro society. First third of the 20th century. H. 25 cm. W. 15.5 cm. Traces of erosion and restoration.
