Amongst the Dan, young men wearing such masks and with full body costumes run through the villages, from house to house, in order to put out ‘forgotten’ hearth fires, while the women work in the fields. This is a sort of ‘fire brigade’ so that the entire village does not burn down. These fire runner masks are recognisable due to their large, round eyes (in contrast to the ‘Deangle masks’ with their slit eyes). The present fire runner mask is carved of hard, brown wood and dyed black on its front side. It has the typical, oval form with pointed chin and a high, smooth forehead slightly bulging forwards. At the top of the head a small hole is preserved, in which an ‘empowering’ iron was once stuck (now lost). At the level of the eyes one can perceive the remains of a strip of red fabric glued transversely across the entire mask. This often appears on this type of mask. The nose is short and slightly curved. The corners of the well-formed, projecting, open mouth are slightly turned downwards, lending this mask a serious expression. Around the pointed chin a beard made of black-dyed, plaited fibres is tied into some holes. This ‘Zakpäi mask’ is in excellent condition and displays a good, shiny usage patina on the front and back.
On the edge of the back inner side appears in white letters the inscription: ‘Christies Amsterdam - Lot 431–12/12/2000’ and a collection number.
Height: 22.5 cm; width: c. 14 cm.
First half of the 20th century. (ME)

Provenance:
South African private collection.

Lit.:
‘Die Kunst der Dan’ by Eberhard Fischer and Hans Himmelheber, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, ill. p. 73 and ill. 42 to 64.