Books Discover & Learn
Coming soon - The guide that didn't exist until now

Authenticity &
Sourcing Guide

Almost all collectors in our community are struggling with exactly this problem. Some can't find authentic pieces. Some can't verify what they already own. This guide was written for both of them.

Notify me when it launches What's inside
The problem
Every collector hits this wall Where do you find the real thing and how do you know when you've found it? This guide answers both.
Two problems. One guide. Sourcing and authenticity come up more than anything else in our collector community. After years of hearing the same questions, we wrote the answers down.
Written from the field 9+ years of real collector conversations across four continents. Not academic. From the places masks actually come from.
If you're just starting out

"Stop getting burned before you've really started."

Every new collector makes expensive mistakes. This guide maps the most common ones and exactly how to avoid them before they cost you money you won't get back.

If you've been collecting 2-5 years

"You've been collecting for years. Here's what the experts actually check."

You know enough to know you don't know enough. This guide closes the gap, the specific markers, questions, and processes that separate a careful intermediate from a confident expert.

If you're an expert or master collector

"The definitive reference guide that didn't exist until now."

A documented, consolidated reference across regions and traditions. The guide you've been assembling in your own notes for years, written down, organized, and ready to share.

Why this problem exists

Authentication is hard.
And that's not
your fault.

There is no centralized, reliable, publicly available resource for mask authentication. Museums guard their institutional knowledge. Dealers have every incentive to keep the playing field uneven. Academic literature exists but is scattered across journals most collectors will never read.

The result is a market where experience is the only real currency and experience takes years to acquire and can't be bought. Until now there has been no shortcut. This guide is the shortcut.

We have spent 9+ years in the field, across four continents, building exactly the knowledge base this guide draws from. The question is not whether he knows this material. The question is whether it's been written down in a form that actually helps collectors.

"Has it danced... even with good provenance the question remains the same."

- Expert collector, score 12/12, community member since 2018

What collectors struggle with most
Sourcing quality pieces 98
Verifying authenticity 95
Budget pressure 89
Knowledge gap 70
Valuation 63
Provenance research 47
Identification 40

From 9+ years of real collector data.

Table of contents

Six chapters.
Everything that matters.

1
Why Authentication Is Hard
And why that's not your fault. The structural reasons the information has been kept fragmented and what changes when you have the whole picture.
2
The Five Things You Can See Without Being an Expert
Wear patterns, construction methods, material signatures, tool marks, and surface aging. What to look for before you ask any other question.
3
Provenance, What It Means and What It Doesn't
Documentation is not proof. Proof is not always documentation. The difference between real provenance research and the performance of it.
4
Where to Find the Real Thing
Sourcing by region - Africa, Japan, Mexico, Indigenous Americas, Pacific Islands, and beyond. Where serious collectors actually find serious pieces.
5
Red Flags Every Collector Needs to Know
The specific signs that should make you walk away, regardless of how good the piece looks, how credible the seller seems, or how good the price is.
6
Building Your Authentication Toolkit Over Time
The books, relationships, experiences, and reference materials that compound into genuine expertise. How the eye develops and how to accelerate it.
Who this is for

Every stage of
the collector's journey.

Beginner / Novice

Just starting out

"Stop getting burned before you've really started."

The mistakes that cost new collectors money are predictable and avoidable. This guide maps them all.

  • How to spot tourist production vs ceremonial pieces
  • The questions to ask before any purchase
  • Where to start building knowledge without spending years
Intermediate - most common tier

2–5 years collecting

"You've been collecting for years. Here's what the experts actually check."

You know enough to know the gaps. This guide closes them, specifically, systematically, region by region.

  • The authentication markers you're probably missing
  • How to read provenance documentation critically
  • Building a sourcing network that actually works
Expert / Master

Serious collector

"The definitive reference that didn't exist until now."

The consolidated reference you've been building in your own notes, organized, cross-regional, written down.

  • Cross-regional authentication comparison
  • Advanced provenance research methodology
  • A reference worth sharing with other serious collectors
Troy Yohn
Written by

Troy Yohn
adventurer, finder,
occasional troublemaker.

Troy has spent 9+ years chasing masks across four continents, through flea markets at 6 AM, back rooms, village markets, and estate sales that most collectors will never find. He has been held at knife point three times in pursuit of authentic pieces. He considers this a reasonable professional hazard.

He is the author of Masks of the World and the Beginner's Guide to Mask Collecting and has built a collector knowledge graph of 3,479 community members over nine years. He knows exactly what collectors struggle with because he has the data and because he has struggled with it himself.

Paula, co-author and cultural scholar, has refined the manuscript. Between them, this guide represents more combined field experience than any comparable resource in the collector space.

Co-Author of Masks of the World 1000+ masks documented across 142 cultures
9+ years sourcing in Asia, Mexico, the Americas, and the Pacific Islands
3,479 collector community, 9 years of real authentication and sourcing challenge data
Three treks to Everest Base Camp. (Paula only once so far) Biked the Death Road in Bolivia. Has the perspective that comes from going to the places.
Pricing

Digital guide - launching at

$29.95

Join the waitlist to be notified at launch. Waitlist members get first access and launch pricing.

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it launches.

Collectors in our community are already on the list, the ones who told us sourcing and authenticity are their biggest challenge. When the guide launches, they hear first. So do you.

No spam. One email when it launches. That's it.

A Masks of the World publication - Discover & Learn - Ask About Your Mask - Obscure Find