AUSPICIOUS TRADITIONAL TIBETAN DEITY HAND CARVED MASK
AUSPICIOUS TRADITIONAL TIBETAN DEITY HAND CARVED MASK
What great detail this mask possesses! Unbelievable color and ornamentation is seen in the royal crown adorning the deity's head, it's ears, the thick eyebrows.
The design and composition of this piece is exquisite.
This mask originates in Tibet and Nepal from the tribal people who inhabit the Himalayas. These masks are used to defeat evil spirits and, when not being used for a ceremony, are hung on the walls of Tibetan homes. The photos don't give it justice.
They should be viewed as cultural artifacts of artistic merit, and viewed this way, age is of but secondary importance. We will however state that all the masks shown here were created for local use and were used as such.
We tend to avoid dating these types of masks. Some of these masks date back to the late 18th century. Dating masks is a tricky business, since their form varies but little over long expanses of time and their condition depends so much upon individual conditions of storage and use. Usually, a mask used only once a year and then kept wrapped and put away in a storage box may well show less wear and patina than a much more recent mask which has been kept hanging near the kitchen fire of a chimneyless stone house. Scientific testing is generally the only proof positive of the age of a mask unless one comes upon the rare example which can be dated from the written record or from the memories of these who remember stories of when it was new.
Size: 9" x 6" x 3"
Retail Value: $134.00
Quantity Available: 1
Shipping within US: $15.00
Shipping to Canada: $26.35
Shipping Outside of US & Canada (International): $51.30
