Antique Nepalese wooden mask

Old handcarved wooden mask with very intense facial features. Made in Nepal in the early to mid 20th century, most likely in the Terai region on the border of southern Nepal and northern India.

On top of the forehead, a row of three faces is depicted. The faces carry three different facial expressions; wrathful, peaceful and joyful (similar to the three faces that can often be found on the pommel of the phurba, the Himalayan ritual dagger). This symbolism, combined with the quite deterrent facial expression of the mask, suggest that this mask is most likely made to be the house of a very strong protective spirit or even wrathful deity.

A mask such as this could have been used as a spirit house by a traditional Nepalese shaman, but could also have been hung in a family house, to protect the house and family against intruders such as malevolent spirits and diseases. In any case, it would have been regularly fed with offerings of ghee or wodka and the smoke of incense.

Sizes; approximately 17 centimeters wide and 23 centimeters high. It weighs 372 grams.

Being an old item already, this mask shows some signs of its age and previous usage, but overall it is still in good condition. On both sides of the forehead, a hole has been drilled, making it possible to thread a cord through to turn it into a wallhanger. 

Unique item, only one available.