A fine Dan bird mask, which would originally have had a monkey hair beard and possibly bead decoration around the head.
Small split in wood over left eye.
Supplied with stand
Height w/o stand 11 ins/28 cms side profile length 10.5 ins/26cms
Guarenteed to have been tribally used.
UK collection
The Dan believe that ‘in’ and behind’ this world exists an essential force called dü which is usually described as a power that is present in all aspects of the world. Dü manifests itself as invisible spirits which may take the form of men or animals. There are some dü spirits which in order to realise a physical nature, must rely on men to create a tangible form for them as masks or figures. The dü causes a man to dream of it and then instructs him in the means through which it must be materialised. One type of dü spirit prefers to be manifested as a masquerade - these are the mask spirits.
All spirit masks are described as ge by the northern Dan and as gle or glö by the southern & western Dan (meaning ‘mysterious being’). These masquerade spirits wish to help men and to advise them, revealing their desire through dreams. The masquerade does not merely represent a spirit, it IS that spirit.
Prevalent amongst the Northern Dan, the gägon (also called ge gon) mask is today worn to entertain the village accompanied by drummers and singers. It is believed that the gägon masquerade was once responsible for singing songs and proverbs to teach the villagers about the importance of the hornbill (the bird represented by gägon, believed to be the first being created by Zla, the creator god of the Dan.

refs https://www.amazon.com/The-arts-Dan-West-Africa/dp/3907070046
See article on Dan masquerades at https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/topic-essays/show/29