Anthropomorphic face mask "tankagle" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Dan · ID: 3042723

Description

wood, eyes damaged along lower rim (probably once narrow with metal borders)

“Tankagle” means something close to “dancing miming masquerade”. They entertain the spectators with various beautiful dances, and sometimes they perform short skits or songs. If the masquerade specialises as a singer, it’s called “gle sö”.

“Tankagle” wears “komo”, a bonnet-like cap with applied decorations including the “bla ka”, a strip of goat skin covered with cowrie shells. The costume consists of of a pair of trousers with a skirt of bast fibre. The mask dancers wear leg rattles and hold calebash rattles in their hands.

The object Anthropomorphic face mask “tankagle” with the object ID 3042723 was last part of the auction 89th Tribal Art Auction at July 7, 2018 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 200.

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.

Comparing literature

Publications

Fischer, Eberhard & Hans Himmelheber, Die Kunst der Dan, Zürich 1976, p. 61, ill. 26; Fischer, Eberhard & Hans Himmelheber, The Arts of the Dan in West Africa, Zurich 1984, p. 29, ill. 28

AHDRC: 0147195