Lot n° 103
Estimation :
1800 - 2500
EUR
Result without fees
Result
: 1 800EUR
Dan entertainment mask, Ivory Coast
Wood... - Lot 103 - Beaussant Lefèvre & Associés
Dan entertainment mask, Ivory Coast
Wood with a dark brown and black patina.
Height: 21.5 cm
Face with noble and serene features, the gaze half closed under a double and fine groove. The straight nose is detailed with short wings and surmounts an almost abstract mouth in its purity, the upper lip fleshy. The high, rounded forehead and the flatness of the smooth cheeks add to the sensitivity of the whole.
This face, which is probably feminine, as indicated by the almond shape of the eyes and the mouth, is to be compared with the productions of the southern Dan country.
Much more than among the other peoples of Côte d'Ivoire and neighbouring regions, the Gle (masks) have an extraordinarily important role among the Dan, truly constitutive of their identity. Towards the middle of the 20th century, there were still several masks in each Dan village, considered at the time as the materialization of spirits wishing to exert an influence on the life of the village (...). And to possess wooden masks, the main accessories of these influential spirits, conferred prestige.
(In. Eberhard Fischer, Lorenz Homberger, Les Maîtres de la sculpture de Côte d'Ivoire, Éditions Musée du Quai Branly/Skira, Paris, 2015, p. 108).
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