Mask "deangle" · Côte d'Ivoire, Dan · ID: 3035522
Yann Ferrandin, Paris, France
Description
wood, greyish brown encrusted patina, characteristic form with narrow see slits and forehead ridge, delicate nose and small mouth, slightly dam., traces of insect caused damage (aside the nose, left eye, mouth), missing part backside at the rim, metal base;
the mask is completed by a diadem-shaped bulge of fabric and a high towering conical headdress of red fabric. The costume consists of textile tippet and abundant grass fibre skirt. The dancer holds a cow tail in his hands.
“Deangle” literally means a “joking and smiling” mask character. The name implies that a friendly and beautiful appearance is described, determined to entertain the people. The “dean” mask characters belong to the circumcision camps (“mbon”) of young boys and girls. They act as mediators between the camp and the village.
The object Mask “deangle” with the object ID 3035522 was last part of the auction 74th tribal art auction at September 7, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 152.
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Comparing literature
Fischer, Eberhard & Hans Himmelheber, Die Kunst der Dan, Zürich 1976, p. 41 ff.