Mask with horns "kpan pre"

Description

wood, rich blackish brown patina, slightly shining, of narrow form with extremely lengthened nose bridge, framed by a disc-shaped beard with flat zigzag pattern, slightly dam., minor missing parts, abrasion of paint (nose, mouth), small crack (left side of the mouth);
belonging to the family of the “kple-kple” masks which perform to honour the buffalo god “goli”. Four pairs of masks appear, two by two, in a fixed order: first a pair of disc-faced masks (usually called “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”. Within each pair, the masks and costumes are nearly identical, but the masks of the “kple kple” and “kpan pre” pairs are distinguished by color: the male mask is painted red, the female black.