We believe all of these miniature masks in this catalog are new and made for sale, never used in the traditional way.

Several have two small holes on the top to be worn as amulets.The Dan people carried small masks (less than 20 cm high) which are sometimes called "passport" masks. They are sewn onto a piece of cloth and kept in a leather pouch and possibly worn in the small of the back. They are miniature copies of a family mask and sometimes received libations. Thhese apotropaic masks also act as witnesses during initiation ceremonies.

-----From The Tribal Arts of Africa by Jean-Baptiste Bacquart.