A fine Dan mask

of overall refined proportions and hollowed oval form, the pointed chin framed by a band of incised chevron motifs and small ears, the full, protruding lips with open, pierced mouth displaying pointed teeth inset with resin and camwood powder, the pronounced philtrum leading to the upturned nose framed by delicate cheekbones and slit eyes enhanced by encrusted resin and the sensitive brows beneath the sloped forehead pierced for the attachment of the braided diadem of hair leading to tendrils on either side, the middle part of the coiffure missing; '82' in white pigment at the reverse; exceptionally fine aged and varied deep brown and encrusted surface.

Merton D. Simpson, New York, April 18, 1964

Lehuard 1978: 22
Robbins and Nooter 1989: 160, figure 298

The Brill mask is an exceptional example of the known style of the tankangle.  Tankangle is an entertainment masquerade in which the character appears in front of the spectators with an orchestra or chorus, or sometimes with a single attendant.

The Brill mask unifies all the characteristics that the Dan connect with the ideal female beauty, i.e. slit eyes, delicate jawline with detailed scarification, small ears and finely plaited hair. The crescent slit-eyes together with the tenderly defined cheekbones and the full lips are of exceptionally fine quality and suggest that this mask is the work of a master carver. For related masks see Fischer and Himmelheber (1984: 27, figure 22) and Sotheby's New York, May 25, 1999, lot 224.