A Dan mask, called ‘Gegon’, Ivory Coast, of oval hollowed form, a large beak carved out from the same piece, sloping slit eyes, bordered all around, with forehead ridge, at the top of the head sits a bent nail as a fetish material, pierced through at the rim for attachment; reddish patina, remnants of encrusted sacrifications on the top, traces of age, ritual use, cracks, incl. stand. 

Gegon, which means "male masquerade", is employed exclusively by the Northern Dan. (...) Gegon is an entertainer or plays the role of a guardian in the initiation camps in the ‘bush’. He is accompanied by drummers and singers.

Lit.: Eberhard Fischer/Hans Himmelheber: The Arts of the Dan in West Africa, Museum Rietberg, 198, p. 81-85; Hans Himmelheber: Masken der We und Dan - Elfenbeinküste, Museum Rietberg, Zürich, 1997.

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Height: 28 cm
Weight: 800 g