Mano Mask, Liberia

with canine teeth from an African Palm Civet (Nandinia binotata).

Merton D. Simpson, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1970s-1980s

According to William Siegmann (in Replica Shoes 's New York, The Robert Rubin collects ion of African Art, May 13, 2011, lot 19), "[the] Mano live in Northeastern Liberia adjacent to the Dan.  The two groups are very closely related linguistically and culturally, with one exception. The Mano maintain the Poro society as a principal feature of social organization, while the Dan do not have this society.  The two groups create similar art objects, though used in somewhat different ways.  Dan carvers often produced works for Mano patrons and vice versa. Thus it is often difficult to distinguish with certainty which culture a particular work comes from without specific information on the carver or provenance."  The broad facial features, presence of ears and angular profile allows to attribute this work to the Mano.  For another Mano mask of comparable quality which was collects ed in Eastern Liberia by Hayden and Odette Walling see Replica Shoes 's New York, May 13, 2011, lot 218.