Antique Nepalese wooden mask

Masks such as this beautiful example are used by animist tribes all over Nepal and parts of Tibet. Looking at the style of this mask and the materials (especially the kind of wood) that have been used, this mask most likely comes from the Nepalese Tharu tribe.

Masks like this are used for protection; they are hung in houses near doors or windows to protect the house and family against malevolent spirits and diseases. They are the houses of benevolent spirits such as the family's ancestors and are regularly fed with offerings of ghee or wodka and the smoke of incense. Sometimes they are worn by village shamans during ritual or healing ceremonies.

This item is in very good condition. It is made from wood which has been treated with natural pigments to attain a beautiful dark color, which has deepened over the years with the patina of ageing. The mask is decorated with pieces of black haired yak hide and dark rudraksha beads.

This handcarved mask is approximately 16 centimeters wide and 25 centimeters high. It weighs 631 grams. In quite recent times a simple hanging system has been made by driving a screw into it on the backside.

The exact age of this mask is hard to say, but it can roughly be determined somewhere around the middle of the 20th century, or maybe even a little bit earlier.

Unique item, only one available