Miniature Dan Mask

Creator

Preview

Creation Date

20th century

Geography

Côte d'Ivoire or Liberia

Culture

Dan

Medium

Wood

Dimensions

4 5/16 x 2 1/2 x 1 3/16 in (11cm x 6.5cm x 2.6cm)

0.956 oz. (27.1g)

Credit Line

Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020

Accession Number

2020.197

Provenance

Acquired by David P. Harris; source and date unknown, but likely acquired sometime in the 1970s. This object could possibly be the unidentified item listed on the receipt document for 2020.2 or the unidentified item listed on the receipt/appraisal document for 2020.13.

Condition

This mask is in excellent condition. It has a hole carved through it at the top center of the forehead. Much of the surface has a shiny patina, which is most prominent on the nose, lips, and cheeks.

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

In several West African communities, miniature masks or Ma Go (literally ‘small head’) are used for various personal, familial, and spiritual purposes. Dan artists made this mask, but miniature masks are also common in Bassa, Loma, and Mano communities, among others. Even on their minute scale – this example is just two and a half inches wide and a little over four inches tall – these masks are detailed and highly stylized. Like their larger counterparts, these masks sometimes have distinct cultural and spiritual types and meanings. Typically, these small masks are made for personal use and function as portable objects of protection and connection. Miniature masks may be made in the form of a particular full-sized mask whose spirit holds significance for the family or person who owns the miniature, a physical tether to that spirit and one’s ancestors.

Just as with larger masks, miniatures have distinct combinations of features that identify them as belonging to a particular community. This mask’s smooth planes of the face and relatively naturalistic depiction of the features are characteristics common to Dan masks (Brooklyn Museum no. 80.244). Another characteristic feature is the absence of ears. The sides of the miniature’s face are completely smooth, as are its narrow, closed eyes and wide, square nose. Full-size Dan masks, like masks from many other West African communities, do not usually have coiffures or features representing hair carved into them because the mask’s hairline is generally covered by another part of the full ensemble during masquerades (Palmer Museum of Art; see Grootaers and Bortolot, 83). These characteristic inclusions and exclusions carry over to their smaller counterparts.

The specific purpose and uses of miniature masks vary between communities and from mask to mask. Most often, miniatures are based on a corresponding mask and are connected to the associated spirit. According to some scholars, miniature masks in Dan and Mano communities are usually only possessed by the wearer of a corresponding full-sized mask. In others, such as Bassa communities, anyone may have a miniature mask. Some scholars disagree, explaining that in Dan and Mano communities, anyone who has a connection to a mask may have a miniature.

Constant handling and use, as well as the oils sometimes applied, often give miniatures a patina in places, making sections appear lighter or almost translucent (Met Museum no. 1979.206.311). This one has a shiny patina on much of the surface, which is most prominent on the nose, lips, and cheeks.

Historically, African miniature masks have frequently been termed “passport masks” in Western art history because of a misinformed belief that miniature masks functioned primarily as a means of identification. While miniature masks are sometimes used in ritual practices and carried with a person when traveling, identification is not generally one of their main functions.

Works Cited:

Fischer, Eberhard and Himmelheber, Hans. The Arts of the Dan in West Africa. Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 1984, 107.

Johnson, Barbara C. Four Dan Sculptors: Continuity and Change. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1986.

Siegmann, William and Cynthia Schmidt. Rock of the Ancestors, ŋamôa kɔni: Liberian Art and Material Culture from the Collections of the Africana Museum. Cuttington University College, 1977, [vi], 1-34.

Visona, Monica B., Robin Poynor, and Herbert M. Cole. A History of Art in Africa. 1st ed. Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2001, 183-7.

Grootaers, Jan-Lodewijk and Bortolot, Alexander, eds. Visions from the Forests: The Art of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2014, 83.

Mercer Thomas '27 (Fall 2026)