Bidspirit auction | GROUP OF DAN PASSPORT MASKS

GROUP OF DAN PASSPORT MASKS - Ca. 19th - 20th century AD. >A group of five miniature carved wooden masks of elongated oval form with stylized facial features, including narrow slit eyes, pronounced noses and small open mouths. Each example is mounted on a later metal display stand. Passport masks of this type are associated with the Dan people of Liberia and C?te d?Ivoire and were traditionally worn on the body or attached to the costume of initiated members of the Poro society. These small masks functioned as personal protective objects and symbolic representations of guardian spirits within Dan ritual and social traditions. > >Size: 80-100mm x 45-50mm; Weight: 510g >Provenance: Prince collection, 1990s-2014; Ex. Private collection 1970s-1990s. > This item has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database and comes with a confirmation letter. >