This attractive brass figure of a standing woman
with a child on her back was made by the Dan
group of Liberia and the Ivory Coast. It is an
elegant form, with elongated limbs, a long torso
and outstretched arms. The face resembles the
deconstructed style of most Dan masks, with a
long nose, nugatory eyes and protuberant lips.
The limbs are flexed at elbow and knee, and are
also decorated with bracelets and bangles, as it
the waist and neck. The patina is aged and
attractive.
The Dan are a farming tribe, settled in the semi-
wooded areas of Liberia and the Ivory Coast.
While beholden to agriculture, much of their
mythology and social structure is based upon
the
forest and its fiercer creatures – the Leopard
Society is the main organ of social control. Dan
society was originally a string of spatially-
proximate but socially distinct communities, and
while they are now – technically at least –
centralised, their diversity has found expression
in the range of masks and other artefacts that
they manufacture.
The Dan are best known for their masks,
designed for specific social functions. There are
masks for fire-watching (= fire warden), social
adjudicators, warriors, debt collectors,
delinquents and warriors, and others for enlisting
workers to clear paths, to catch runaway wives,
to race unmasked athletes (“runner masks”) to
snatch feast food to serve to children and even
for spying. Masks were inherited through
lineages, kept on altars and endowed with
libations. However, figures are far rarer, and their
usage is thus far less systematised. The only
accounts of figures of this sort pertain to the
habit of prominent chiefs who wish to honour
their favourite wives. The figures were cared for,
anointed and kept by the wife in question, and
they were only seen in the event of dignitaries’
visitations. Metal figures were expensive objects,
and were status objects within Dan society.
This is a rare and impressive piece of African art.
