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Bruce Frank Primitive Art
New York City, NY
+1 917 733 9589

Very Rare Stone Miniature Mask

Dan, Liberia
19th-early 20th c

Provenance: Old American collection

Small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand, passport masks were never made to be worn and openly displayed. Instead, they were kept out of sight, sometimes sewn onto a piece of cloth and carried around the neck or arm as a personal amulet. Despite their size these miniature masks were considered to hold as much power as their larger counterparts. For example, the Dan believed the world was divided into the realms of the living and the spiritual: the village and the forest. When leaving the village to hunt or travel, they would carry passport masks as protective charms.

This maskette is made of stone, which is much rarer to find than the more commonly seen wooden examples. It’s dark and encrusted surface developed over time from the numerous ritual libations it received.

Very Rare Stone Miniature Mask

Dan, Liberia
19th-early 20th c

Provenance: Old American collection

Small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand, passport masks were never made to be worn and openly displayed. Instead, they were kept out of sight, sometimes sewn onto a piece of cloth and carried around the neck or arm as a personal amulet. Despite their size these miniature masks were considered to hold as much power as their larger counterparts. For example, the Dan believed the world was divided into the realms of the living and the spiritual: the village and the forest. When leaving the village to hunt or travel, they would carry passport masks as protective charms.

This maskette is made of stone, which is much rarer to find than the more commonly seen wooden examples. It’s dark and encrusted surface developed over time from the numerous ritual libations it received.

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