RARE ANTIQUE NEPALESE THARU FESTIVAL MASK
Origin:
Period/Date: Late 19th century, certainly not later than 1910
Materials: Wood, brass, copper, polychrome paint
Dimensions: Height 7.75" (19.5 cm), Width 5.5" (14 cm)
Description: Here is an especially good Tharu festival/ theater mask, presented on a custom metal stand. It is profoundly expressive and has bold olive green paint. Its teeth are inset with brass and copper and its mouth has an incised moustache. The teeth (some missing) are unusual in the corpus of Tharu masks and might suggest a character which acted as a protector against evil entities. Unlike Shamanic masks which tended to be well cared for, festival masks often had a hard life and died young. It is fortunate that a mask of this vintage has survived. It shows significant wear, some scarring and evidence of rat gnawing. It has a varied and encrusted patina especially on top (see last photo).
CF. Tribal Arts Magazine, winter 95-96 page 67 figure 23 (for a related example)
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