Dan mask, Ivory Coast / Liberia, first half of the XXᵉ century. Carved wood with dark patina

Dan mask, Ivory Coast / Liberia, first half of the XXᵉ century. Carved wood with antique dark patina. Elongated face, slit eyes, narrow nose, ridged crenellated top. Good state of preservation. Probable ritual use
Height: 40 cm - Width: 16 cm - Depth: 10 cm - Weight: 600 g - Material: hardwood, antique dark patina - Attachment: side holes for ligatures (fibers now missing).
Very elongated, narrow face with extended, bifid chin → characteristic Dan/Wé feature
Narrow, slit-shaped eyes, deeply incised, without decorated eyelids. Typical of Dan masks intended for intense spiritual presence
Long, straight, narrow nose, with no widening at the base.
Small, closed mouth, without theatrical expression, almost austere
Top sculpted with ridged edges, almost architectural.
Among the Dan, this type of mask could be used :

social regulation dances
customary justice ceremonies
Or as a mask with an autonomous spiritual function (spirit mask)

The austerity of the expression suggests a non-party mask with a strong symbolic charge.
State of preservation

Consistent wear (rubbing, erosion of relief)
Very oxidized black patina, with visible wood burrs → real use
Small old chips, no visible heavy restoration
No added elements (no repainting, no modern filling)

Condition: good to very good for an ancient ritual mask, legible and sound
Comparable museum references

Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, Paris
→ Dan masks, narrow faces with carved tops
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
→ Dan mask, Liberia / Ivory Coast, XIXᵉ-XXᵉ s.
British Museum, London
→ Dan/Wé masks, elongated, sober forms

Bibliographical references

Eberhard Fischer & Hans Himmelheber, The Arts of the Dan, Prestel
Ladislas Segy, African Sculpture Speaks
François Neyt, Arts and Cultures of Black Africa
Kerchache, Paudrat, Stephan, L'Art africain, Citadelles & Mazenod

Ref: C0D3DMF71Y