Description

Beautifully hand-carved Japanese Bugaku theatre mask, meant to be worn whilst performing the solo, rejoiceful Genjoraku dance. This dance references the practice of snake-eating for medicinal purposes in central Asia and would often be performed as celebration of the return of an emperor to the palace. The mask has movable eyes, jaw, and eyebrows, stringy hair, bulging veins on its forehead, and an upturned nose of a tengu demon. Its eyes are golden, a common feature on demons, and it also has traces of blue along its face, another representation of demons and the underworld. Inside the mask there are illegible traces of a signature by the original artist. 19th century

(reference “Bugaku Masks” by Kyotaro Nishikawa, pg. 116)

Size: 9.25″ tall, 6.5″ wide