Preview
Culture
Dan people
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
3 1/4 x 1 3/4 x 1 in. (8.25 x 4.45 x 2.54 cm)
.5 oz. (14.2 g)
Credit Line
Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020
Accession Number
2020.13
Provenance
Purchased by David P. Harris ('46) from Von Barghahn Gallery, in Washington D.C., on March 12, 1975.
Condition
The dark brown finish has been worn away in places, revealing light brown wood.
References
Brad Hostetler, with Ani Parnagian, "From Private to Public: The Collection of David P. Harris," in Ethiopian Objects in the Blick-Harris Study Collection: Art, Context, and the Persistence of Form, eds. Brad Hostetler, and Lynn Jones, Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art & Architecture 8, no. 1 (Spring 2022): 5–25. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/
Description
Dan Passport masks are small masks, about 6-20 cm tall. These passport masks replicate the masks worn in performance. They serve as important means of identification, and someone in the community can commission them for preventative, protective or curative purposes. While they often depict females, they are not easily available to women. Women can commission a miniature to retain ties to their own family after they marry if their family has a strong connection to the masks.
This Dan mask has a long and narrow shape with closed (slit) eyes and an elaborate hairdo, indicated by carved cross-hatching and culminating in a blunt point. There is a single hole at the very top.