Anthropomorphic face mask "kpan" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Baule · ID: 3050383

Description

wood, colour pigments, base

“Kpan” masks are part of the “goli” masquerade, a day-long spectacle that normally involves the whole village. “Goli” can be performed both as an entertainment and for the funerals of important men.

Four pairs of masks appear, two by two, in a fixed order: first a pair of disc-faced masks “kple kple”, next a pair of animal helmet masks “goli glen”, third a pair of horned face masks “kpan pre”, and finally two human-faced masks with crested hairdos “kpan”, embodying the ideal woman. “Kpan” (“the older woman”) is considered the wife of “goli glin” (= the older man").

The object Anthropomorphic face mask “kpan” with the object ID 3050383 was last part of the auction 101st Auction at November 11, 2023 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 211 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,300.

You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.