Dan culture
Liberia or Côte d’Ivoire
Mask, c. 1935
Wood
The Robert J. Ulrich Works of Art Purchase Fund 2009.32

The Dan often integrate bird and animal features in their face masks, including the hornbill beak visible in this and the adjacent mask. Here, rows of carved teeth line the beak. The small protrusions on the forehead represent antelope horns, which were often used as containers of protective medicines.

Masks from the West-African Dan People

Saturday, June 12, 2010—Sunday, November 28, 2010
Gallery 261a
Free Exhibition

Masks are the most important art form of the Dan, who live on either side of the border between Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. This installation includes eight masks, from the MIA and from two local collectors.

This exhibition is the first of a series of small-scale experimental installations that will inform the redesign of the African galleries and will incorporate technological innovations.

Listen to Gaston Gueria discuss the dreaming and making of masks in Dan culture. (1:10)




Listen to a few dreams that visitors have recorded:

Dream #1:

Dream #2: