GROUP OF DAN PASSPORT MASKS

Ca. 19th - 20th century AD. > A group of five miniature carved wooden masks of elongated oval form, each with stylized facial features including almond-shaped eyes, pronounced noses and incised coiffures. Four are mounted on later metal display stands, with one example unmounted. Passport masks of this type are associated with the Dan people of Liberia and C�te d�Ivoire and were traditionally worn on the body or attached to the costume of initiated members of the Poro society. These small masks functioned as personal protective objects and symbolic markers of status, representing spiritual guardians or intermediary forces within the Dan belief system. > > Size: 70-85mm x 40-50mm; Weight: 410g > Provenance: Prince collection, 1990s-2014; Ex. Private collection 1970s-1990s. > >

Estimate:£400

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