Africa | Liberia
Dan mask
Liberia
Déanglé mask
Dan-Gio
Liberia – Ivory Coast
Carved wood, pigments, metal
19th or early 20th century
Height: 23 cm – 9 in.
Provenance
Collection Pace Primitive, New York, May 1976
Collection Martin Lerner, New York
Collection Pace Primitive, New York, acquired from the above early 2000s
Collection Richard E. Anderson, Director Emeritus of Aldridge Museum, Connecticut, USA
Private collection, Florida, USA
Collection Guilhem Montagut, Barcelona, Spain
Dan Gio mask Lerner 23 cm / Galerie FLAK
Price: on request
Face masks played a fundamental role in regulating the social and ritual life of the Dan people of Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring groups in Liberia. « Each mask was considered to be an individual with its own name, and was the embodiment of a specific spirit » (Eberhard Fischer, "Les Maîtres de la sculpture de Côte d’Ivoire", Quai Branly Museum, Paris, 2015, page 108).
These masks were neither representations of ancestors nor portraits. Instead, they acted as intermediaries bridging the human world and the realm of spirits. They served as agents of control, ensuring order and harmony within villages.
These masks were neither representations of ancestors nor portraits. Instead, they acted as intermediaries bridging the human world and the realm of spirits. They served as agents of control, ensuring order and harmony within villages.
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