Dance mask "dhi gla" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Grebo · ID: 3038537

Description

wood, blackish brown patina, encrusted in some areas, remains of polychrome painting, red fabric saturated with mass, typical for the We style: horn-like protuberances, narrow see slits, tubular cheek projections, animal ears and wide aquiline nose, slightly dam., missing parts (on both sides of the forehead), paint rubbed off, base;
the mask was crowned by a large headdress of wild bird feathers and the face was surrounded by an abundant fiber beard. An enormous fiber skirt covered the knees and the legs were wrapped in net leggings with rows of iron bells around the ankles. The mask type appeared on festivals which took place at funerals but also on more profane occasions.

The object Dance mask “dhi gla” with the object ID 3038537 was last part of the auction 80th Tribal Art Auction at June 27, 2015 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 282.

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

Barbier, Jean Paul (ed.), Art of Côte d' Ivoire, Vol II, Genève 1993, ill. 133 Homberger, Lorenz, Masken der Wè und Dan, Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 1997, p. 41