Our bone mask from the Moluccas Islands is beautiful with its subtle carving and unusual shape. The Moluccans, located North of Timor and East of Sulawesi, became part of Indonesia in 1950. Wish I could tell you more about this unique mask. Though “Ask the Mask Man” is mostly about telling new owners what they have, I frequently add photos that I find interesting. Then I categories each mask and add it to one of 15 groups which you can easily access. I hope “Categories” has become a useful research tool for some of you collectors.
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Nice West African mask
Q: This African mask measures a total of 14 inches tall by 8 inches wide. I bought it last year at an online auction for about $26.00. I liked its whimsical expression and signs of vintage usage. Do you have any opinions? Thanks again, Diane, 1309 A: You may have scored a real winner. This is a very nice Aduma mask from Gabon. Yes, the blue diamond shape and the single horn are things I’ve never seen before. (Maybe that’s why some other collectors past it over.) It is a classic design that looks like it’s been used a lot. I would suggest that you get it appraised by someone…
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Ancient clay mask
Q: The lady that I got this mask from for ten dollars last year said that she believed it originally came from China. It measures six inches in diameter. It is made of clay, and a friend who did ceramics told me that it was fired at a lower temperature than that of a modern kiln. Thank you for looking. Fred, 1308 A: Perhaps it is an Asian piece, but I think it is more likely from Mexico or further South. That is not based on any expertise. It is just the fact that I see more “ancient” ceramics from the new world than the old. Sadly, most of…
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Jeweled bronze Mahakala
Q: I’m an art teacher and received this mask from my mother in law who had got it for me in an estate sale of someone who was a world traveler and collector of many things on his travels. I think it is Tibetan Buddhist but not sure. Masks aren’t my forte but I wanted to show my students. Annie, 1307 A: It could be Tibetan or Nepalese, but calling it Himalayan is accurate. It is a popular Buddhist god called Mahakala. Many of these masks are made of carved wood or papier mache instead of beautiful bronze embedded with brightly colored glass beads. As you can see on the…
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Boruca monkey mask
Aaron has added several Boruca masks to his wonderful collection. This one looks like a capuchin monkey and is quite unusual. If you are unfamiliar with his website, you should check it out. TITLE: Boruca Diablo-Mono GENERAL REGION: Latin America COUNTRY: Costa Rica SUBREGION: Reserva Rey Curré, Puntarenas ETHNICITY: Boruca DESCRIPTION: Diablo-Mono (Devil-Monkey) Mask MAKER: Hermes Morales, Rey Curré CEREMONY: Fiesta de los Diablitos AGE: 2009 MAIN MATERIAL: balsa wood OTHER MATERIALS: red pigment from achiote berry; black pigment from wood ash; white pigment from kaolin clay The Boruca people mostly inhabit two reservations in the Puntarenas Province of Costa Rica. Technically, many persons classified as Boruca are members of…
