28 - Kpan Mask

Kpan Mask with scarified face and crested headdress Wood, original honey- and brown-colored patina, red and white ochre pigment, signs of wear on the interior Baoulé, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire 37 x 15.5 cm The elongated face protrudes from a wide collar that follows its contours and extends below the chin. The brow ridges form two smooth curves that meet at the bridge of the nose, while the lowered eyelids and small, open mouth create a serene expression. Scarifications dot the forehead and cheeks, beneath a hairstyle with strands neatly arranged around a central crest. This mask belongs to the Kpan type, an adult female figure that concludes the series of Goli masks. Its dance celebrates consummate beauty, associated with maturity and feminine prestige. The wide ruff served to secure the elements of the costume concealing the wearer, who could look out through the opening in the mouth. Comparative Bibliography: Susan Mullin Vogel, *Baoulé Art: The Visible and the Invisible*, Paris, Adam Biro, 1997: red-faced Kpan mask housed at the Field Museum in Chicago, reproduced in the section “Art to Be Admired: Performances.” Similarities include the face projected onto a wide ruff, the treatment of the eyelids, and the arrangement of the scarifications.