Sharon Lowen, a scholar and performer of Indian traditional dances, sent me this photo of Sri Balaram, a character from one of the Chhau dances in Purulia, and the brother of Krishna. It is an unused performance mask, 13″ x 10 1/2″ x 7″, collected in 1974 from a mask-maker at the Paus Mela Fair in Santineketan, Bengal. Its eyes are not opened yet because dancers do this themselves.
Sharon will be in the United States for the first time in 5 years and have two days to disperse (or bring back to India) folk art collected in the 70’s and 80’s. If you have any friends in LA who might be interested in seeing and buying chhau masks, framed Odisha pata chitra paintings or nice textiles, please share this link with them. There will be almost 50 pieces on Indian folk art for sale in Griffith park July 24-26. Look at Sharon’s India collection in LAI just happened to see this old pic of Sharon in costume.
2 Comments
Mickey Ford
Bob,
Thank you for posting Sharon’s information. I contacted her and purchased the Sri Balaram which is shown above, along with two other masks. Received the masks the other day and had a great time re-organizing my walls to accommodate them. Sharon was very gracious and I look forward to hearing from her again.
Bob Ibold
Nice to hear from you. Hopefully, the world is beginning to appreciate Indian masks and other folk art.