Mask of "hanuman" ("King of the apes")

Description

heavy wood, partly encrusted patina, remains of paint, of broad form with protruding snout, visible teeth and tongue, clear traces of the carving tool backside, dam., missing parts (chin), traces of abrasion;
“hanuman” is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of “rama”, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana. A general among the “vanaras”, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, “hanuman” is an incarnation of the divine, whose fate it is to aid the hero “rama” in the struggle against the demon king “ravana”.