A Dan, We or Kran war-mask, of the Bugl ceremony, Liberia, Ivory Coast, a tubelike, protruding snout with two animal teeth, beneath a triangular nose, framed by tubular eyes, a domed forehead with a nail on top for fetish material; orange to white sacrification patina, wood, leather, iron, provenance Amadou Bouaflé, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

The face masks, which are alwaysof considerable size, have a roughly pentagonal outline, tubular eyes, n (a mustage) and a powerful mouth with large inset teeth. The deliberatedly rough, usuallycovered with black bpatina - the residue of kola nut and blood sacrifices.

Lit.: Masken der We und Dan - Elfenbeinküste, Hans Himmelheber, Museum Rietberg, Zürich, 1997, page 58, The Arts of the Dan in West Africa, Museum Rietberg, plate 66

800 - 1.000,- Euro

Height: 27 cm
Weight: 0,70 g