2005.45 Face mask

This lustrous black face mask probably played a role in Dan boys' puberty rites, which were conducted by the men's Poro society, which educated and socialized males. It is a support for a du (vital force or spirit). When a du decides it wants to participate in human society and help mankind, it appears to men in dreams and dictates the requirements for a mask to make it tangible. The dreamer, who will wear and perform the masquerade, commissions a sculptor to carve a mask out of wood. Masks have human or animal features that may be representational, stylized, or a fantastic combination of both—a "composite."

Each mask has a name and its own paraphernalia, costume, and headdress as well as unique behavior, choreography, and musical accompaniment. This mask probably represents Deangle, a female spirit with a small, oval face and narrow eyes. The spirit—embodied by the wearer—walks and gestures gracefully as she collects food from the villagers for the boys in the circumcision/initiation camp. The spirit also reports the news from the camp to the village and vice versa.

1940s-1970: Jean Paul Delcourt, France

From around 1970-1999: Private collection, Belgium

2005: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Merton D. Simpson Gallery, New York

The main source for this provenance is the Acquisition Proposal in the Collections Records object file (2005.45).

Apply to objects where number equals 2005.45