Mask "deangle" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Dan · ID: 3034531

Description

wood, brown patina, it is very likely that this mask originally wore a kind of bonnet or coiffure because of the darker and smoother patina in the area of the forehead, pierced around the rim, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage, metal socle;
“deangle” literally means “joking, laughing” mask figure. The “dean” mask characters belong to the circumcision camps (“mbon”) of young boys and girls. They act as a mediator between the camp and the village.They are not accompanied by musicians and they are not singing and dancing, but moving gracefully and joking with the women, begging them to send plenty of food to the camp.