Monkey mask · India - Himachal Pradesh · ID: 3040732
French Private Collection
Description
wood, dark brown patina, red pigment, expressive facial features with circular pierced eyes and revealed teeth, crown-like headgear, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage and abrasion, missing part on the back, base;
probably depicting “Hanuman”.
As a result of his exploits in the Ramayana, “Hanuman” became widely known for his feats of strength, bravery and primarily for his devotion to “Rama” in his struggles to recover his wife, “Sita”, who had been abducted by the ten-headed demon, “Ravana”, of Sri Lanka. Because of his superlative language and musical skills he is the patron saint of many students and scholars.
The object Monkey mask with the object ID 3040732 was last part of the auction 83rd Tribal Art Auction at May 28, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 55.
You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on Asian art.
Publications
Musée des Arts d'Afrique et d'Asie, Himalaya Tribal, Vichy 2015