Bird's beak mask. Dan, Ivory Coast, late 19th century-early 20th century.

Bird beak mask. Dan, Ivory Coast, late 19th century-early 20th century.
Wood, black pigment.
Measurements: 25 x 15 cm.

"It is reasonable to think that a man is not a bird; however, this mask [...] seems to say the opposite, since the beak adapts very naturally to the shape of the face." (Diamantis Thémélis, African Art or The Double Discourse of Things, In Arts d'Afrique Noire, [sl], n. 118, p. 21-29, 2001.). Dan Maou's masks are understood as a union between man and animal. The piece in question is distinguished by the beautiful regular oval of the face, surrounded by linear incisions that evoke the traditional scarifications of Diomandé. The zoomorphic character of the entity is expressed by the power of the forked beak projected into space. Ambivalence and hybridization are recurring principles that govern the arts of sub-Saharan Africa, in a universe where, to achieve the supernatural, "tribal speech unites certain opposites in the objects it creates".