Face Mask Gunague

Dan · Côte d’Ivoire

Reference: MFANT-50

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Material
Wood, fabric, raffia, cauris, bone and pigments.

It's a mask belonging to the griots. Sing the praises of the boss’s family only. The caste of the griots is widely recognized and respected in…

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Full original description

It's a mask belonging to the griots. Sing the praises of the boss’s family only.

The caste of the griots is widely recognized and respected in Africa. griot is the living memory of Africa. We owe it to them to know many parts of Africa’s history. The griot is characterized by an extraordinary memory. It is capable of retaining and reciting from memory, without varying a comma, the equivalent of several whole books. It tells the ancient stories of the region, the exploits of the important characters, the traditional stories, exposes the myths, knows the genealogies, accumulates in its knowledge hundreds of poems and songs. It is a poet, musician and rapsode. What we know in other cultures through the written word, in Africa is known through the griots that transmit their knowledge from generation to generation. Kings, nobles and dignitaries or any rich family has their griot. The griot sing the praises of his master and live for, for, and for his master. The oral tradition in Africa is the griot. It is a compendium of history, literature and music.

This mask has been collected in territory Dan by forest prospector David Alcocer in the mid-1960s.

Further technical information
Attributed period
First third century XX or older

Details transcribed from the original catalogue; they are not a recent physical inspection.

Country on the map

Côte d’Ivoire. The country associated with the catalog is shown, not the current location of the piece.

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Attributions, dates and accounts come from the preserved catalogue. They do not constitute certification of authenticity or provenance. An object’s presence on this website does not mean it is available for sale.

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