Masks from Africa

Africa is on the move, and its cultures are changing too. That's the message of masks in Dahl’s collections from African countries. They are doorways to discovering its rich history and present character. 

The West African masks show how history repeats itself. The powerful Ashanti kingdom once provided stability for a rich cultural tradition. Now, the area known as Ghana is proving a stable haven for mask makers to work, and export Ghanaian masks to the world’s museums, galleries and craft markets.

Further south, mask makers are working in new creative ways. The central African masks portrayed here can’t be identified with the older local traditions of mask making from specific countries. Are their makers absorbing influences and ideas from many ethnic traditions? Are they traveling between countries, driven by conflict or poverty, lured to travel by the promise of better? This book urges the reader to follow and discover.