Mask

This oval-shaped face mask was carved from a single piece of wood by a Dan carver from Côte d'Ivoire or Liberia. It features a wide bulbous forehead, projecting chin, and high relief nose and mouth. The slit eyes are arched downwards while the lips of the mouth are slightly parted. The rim of the mask is pierced with attachment holes for a costume.

The border between Côte 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; Gunyege, whose mask is worn by a community's champion foot racers in competitions; and Bugle, who historically leads men into battle. Once they are divorced from their performance contexts, however, mask forms are difficult to identify.