CIRCA: 1900
A hand carved wooden mask from Nepal with a friendly, if somewhat quizzical, almost ‘grandfatherly-like’ expression. Masks such as this were used in village dances and for ‘staged’ entertainment purposes. This particular piece was once partially painted, but the paint has worn down over the years leaving an appealing if subtle highlight that contrasts nicely with the wonderfully thick and lustrous patina. (From a private collection established in Kathmandu in the early 1970’s, it was originally bought as a pair with ‘Mask Item 5’.)