Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE D: WORLD ART
Preferred Title:
Face Mask (gunye ge)
Image View:
Overall view from right side
Creator:
unknown (Dan (Mande style))
Location:
repository: Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac (Paris, Île-de-France, France) 73.1966.3.10
Location Note:
From Africa to the Americas: Face-to-Face Picasso, Past and Present (2018 exhibition)
Date:
20th century; before 1966 (creation)
Cultural Context:
Dan (Mande style); Ivorian
Style Period:
Dan (Mande style)
Work Type 1:
ceremonial mask
Work Type 2:
sculpture (visual work)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
wood (Oldfieldia africana)
Technique:
carving (processes)
Measurements:
25.1 cm (height) x 15.6 (width) x 8.4 cm (depth)
Subjects:
recreation and games; festivals; Masks; ritual object; African; athletic competition
Description:
From Côte d'Ivoire. In Dan society, dangerous immaterial forest spirits are translated into the forms of human face masks. Whether or not they are worn, such sculptures are spiritually charged. Male performers, gle-zo, experience a dream sent by the mask spirit that allows them to dance it. In performance, the masks are integrated into the hierarchical system that governs political and religious life. There are different spirit personalities; this is the mask of Gunyege (Gunye ge), the mask of the champion runner of the community, worn during foot races and kept by the winner. (Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art [website]; http://www.metmuseum .org)
Collection:
Archivision Adjunct Module D: World Art
Identifier:
7A3-AFRICAN-FAFFM-GG A-A01
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Face Mask (gunye ge)