African Arts Gallery

African mask Dan covered with red felt, extended by a long horsehair beard. Resinous aggregates at the top. Height on base: 42 cm.
Masks equipped with round eye sockets (gunye ge), facilitating vision, are part of all the masks of the northern Dan and are used for racing events during of the dry season. The zapkei ge, also equipped with circular orbits, are responsible for preventing fires by watching over domestic fires. Among the Dan, or Yacouba, living in the west of the Ivory Coast and in Liberia, the "dü" force which would animate the world would manifest itself in the sculpted masks. According to the Dan, the spirits indicate how to name the mask they wish to see made. These masks of different types are endowed with social, spiritual and political functions, often evolving over time.