African Arts Gallery

A beak extends this African mask of the Dan Yacouba from the banks of the Cavally River, between Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia. This long curved beak, associated with a mask depicting a human face, would refer to the turaco, king of animals. The very dense headdress consists of multiple braids.
Glossy patina, small accidents.
End of beak eroded.
The Dan populations of the north known as Yacouba of the Ivory Coast and the Maou of Touba (Maouka), and those of the northeast of Liberia, after having borrowed them from the neighboring Mandé people, use them in the secret masculine ceremonies of which the Koma of the Maou Guerze of Liberia call it Nyomu . For some authors, it would appear during the Poro celebrations.
Ref. : "The Bird in the art of West Africa" F. Ndiaye and G.Massa. Editions Sepia.