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Lot 90

A Bhairava gilt bronze Mask
Nepal, 19th Century

10 April 2008, 10:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £4,080 inc. premium

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A Bhairava gilt bronze Mask
Nepal, 19th Century

modelled with fearsome expression with large, bulging eyes beneath furrowed eyebrows and a third eye, open mouth with exposed tongue and fangs, all surmounted with a foliate tiara with a skull and serpent border, the flaming hair arranged in rows of tightly wound curls, finely detailed in repoussé and inlaid with semi-precious stones
32.3 cm. long

Footnotes

Bhairava, a manifestation of the wrathful form of Shiva, signifies the phenomenal existence that is to be overcome. Masks such as the present example were used during the Indrajatra. A related example from the Musée Guimet, Paris, is illustrated in I. Aslop, 'The Masks of the Newars', Orientations, September 1993, p.57.

Additional information