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A wood Bhairava mask Nepal, 16th century
Sold for US$11,500 inc. premium
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A wood Bhairava mask
Rising from broad shoulders, the powerful face in a ferocious expression with large bulging eyes beneath furled brows centered by the third eye. His mouth is pierced in the center with fangs. His skull tiara is centered by a bodhisattva head flanked by nagas and a five-leaf crown before his flaming hair, arranged in two rows of tight curls. He is further ornamented by a snake necklace and large hoop earrings. 28 x 18 in. (71.1 x 45.7 cm.)
Footnotes
These masks were not the kind worn, but kept on display and used for special annual festivals dedicated to Indra. On the third night of the Indrajata chang, a local beer or spirits, was poured through a spout placed through the mouth of the mask for revelers who would imbibe the liquid under the auspices of receiving a divine blessing.
Compare with another sold in these rooms from the Sartin Collection, September 13, 2011, lot 1008.
Provenance:
Diane and Sandy Besser Collection, Santa Fe.
Published:
Joyce Ice (ed.), On Collecting; From Private to Public, Featuring Folk and Tribal Art from the Diane and Sandy Besser Collection, Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, 2009, p. 44.
























