A Dan Zakpei Fire mask, Ivory Coast, of delicate thin features, carved from one piece of dark wood in a oval shape, thin jaw line with a protruding half opened mouth with teeth coming out of it, a thin pointed nose, large rounded shaped eyes with hollowed holes at their centre, an elongated forehead bulging, some braided rope around the jaw, the rims of the mask are punctured with small and very delicate attachement holes; some damage at the top of the head, glossy by use, signs of use.
These 'fire runner masks,' identified by their large, round eyes, were worn by young men of the Dan community during droughts. Their purpose was to run through the villages and extinguish 'forgotten' stove fires while the women worked in the fields.

Die Kunst der Dan' by Eberhard Fischer & Hans Himmelheber, Museum Rietberg Zurich, fig. 42, 44, 50, 51, 52, 58; 'Trésors de Cote d'Ivoire' by Francois Neyt, fig. 9, 10, 11

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

Source: The MET museum.

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Height: 24 cm
Weight: 580 g incl. stand