Baule Passport MaskTribe: Baule
Country: Ivory Coast
Material: Wood
Size: 11" (28cm) Tall - Mask Only
Notes: Beautifully displayed on a custom gallery style museum stand, ready for immediate display.
Miniature African masks like these, often referred to as 'passport masks' were used as a personal mask or identity of initiated adult Baule men
and would be carried with them everywhere they went, normally carried in a leather pouch. The masks would serve as
protective spirits, protecting the initiates.
Passport masks serve also to mark the passage of an
initiate into the men's secret society and his elevation into the
higher ranks, and may be persented at society meetings showing their right to be present and participate in the ensuing deliberations.
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