
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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Sold for US$25,000 inc. premium
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International Director
尼泊爾 十五/十六世紀 木雕陪臚面具
Beautifully carved with iconographic features of a third eye, a crawling snake crown, and a crescent moon in flaming hair, this large mask represents the Hindu god Bhairava, the wrathful incarnation of Shiva.
During the beloved annual Indrajatra and Pachali Bhairabjatra festivals taking place in the Kathmandu valley every September, such masks of Bhairava are often displayed in front of temples and private dwellings. A liquor jar filled with beer or rice wine is placed behind the mask, from which a bamboo pipe protrudes through the mouth and distributes the drink, an act regarded as prasad (or divine gift) to devotees as a blessing from the god.
For other closely related examples of similar size, see Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2012, lot 1094, and 13 September 2011, lot 1008. Also compare with a larger mask published in Nies, Spirit of Compassion, Antwerp, 1995, pp.28-9.
Provenance
Private Collection, New York