AKAN, GHANA OR IVORY COAST

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Among the rich array of ornaments from the Gold Coast region, with its panoply of animal, human, and abstract imagery, we find a tradition of gold pendant masks. These small, detailed faces – some cast with the lost-wax method and others with more direct, hand-shaped techniques – represent the spirit of the wearer, a loved one, or an ancestor. They are worn during ceremonies and important occasions, such as weddings and religious gatherings, and are also credited with powers of protection, defending the wearer from wicked spirits and bringing good luck.

A vigorous energy radiates from this bright maskette, animated by its assertive, many-pointed silhouette and vibratory textures. An elongated face shows large, heavy-lidded eyes under arched and textured brows, and an oversized, triangular nose. The ears are rendered as semi-disks. Jutting in a semicircle from the head is a coiffure of tightly twisted cones that borders the face like a sunburst. The facial hair and beard echo it at the lower end of the mask. Both the warm brightness of the gold surface and the pointy tactility of the shapes at play create an immediate impact on the eye, lending this small piece an arresting aura.

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