Carnival time in the Western world goes from Jan 1 to April 1, which is Easter. These kinds of masquerades occur in many villages and cities at different dates, but not in Africa or Asia. I don’t know when or where this particular parade happens in Switzerland. In the United States the principal Carnival celebration is in New Orleans, where the Carnival season opens on Twelfth Night (January 6) and climaxes with the Mardi Gras festivities commencing 10 days before Shrove Tuesday. Other places are different. Thus, in Munich in Bavaria the Carnival season, there called Fasching, begins on the feast of the Epiphany (January 6), while in Cologne in…
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Precolonial funeral mask
Q Here is a mask I have. After research I did not find anything about it, so if you could tell me something I’d be very appreciative. Jelena, 1266 A Funeral masks were fairly common for many years until the Spanish arrived about 500 years ago in Central and South America. So is this a careful reproduction or the real thing? That’s an important question that I hope some of our viewers will comment on. I have little experience with ancient artifacts. Wait until you know before selling.
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Always go for quality
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Repro of Patron mask from Guatemala
Q: I recently bought this mask and I would like to know if it’s authentic or if you would know anything more about it. The seller said it was a dance mask from Chichicastenango, Guatemala from the 1950s-1960s. The mask measures roughly 7” in length and 5” in width. Any help would be appreciated. Daniel, 1265 A: Here’s what Aaron has to say about a similar mask that is authentic. This is one is not, but it certainly looks like the real thing. B SUBREGION: Nahualá ETHNICITY: Mayan DESCRIPTION: Patrón Mask MAKER: Unknown CEREMONY: Danza del Patzcar AGE: 1980s MAIN MATERIAL: wood OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; leather The Danza…
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Classic Viennese carnival mask
Q: I’m from France. I’ve been passionate about masks since I was 10 years old. I found this Russian mask at a Christmas stand and I would like to know about it’s meaning and story. Lola A: Now that you know what it is, go to Google and learn more about your beautiful Italian mask.
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7 masks from the Kuchipudi theater in India
Q: We found these seven masks near the city of Barcelona and the price we paid was about € 2700. We were told they belonged to a collector and were worth much more. Laia, 1263 A: I like these masks very much so I decided to share the group photo with our viewers. However I have little access to material on Indian masks. I’m going to guess they represent some of the many Hindu gods that are characters in the Kuchipudi theater. They would be from the state of Andhra Pradesh. It sure would be nice to know if I’m correct.
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Old Noh theater mask
Q: I have and old Japanese mask but know nothing about it. Thanks! Oliver, 1262 A: I assume it is an old temple mask– something a monk has made for sale to faithful visitors to the temple. Or it could be an old man for a Noh play. I asked Oliver to send me some higher res scans and will post them when they come. Then I can make a few more comments.
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Iroquois false face mask
Q: I’m 22 years old. I have been fascinated with masks all my life. Decided to study art oriented towards sculpture to make my own designs so for the last year I’ve been working with masks in parallel with the university. I’ve worked with papier mache and latex, made some replicas and some personal designs. I also collect masks. You wanted some more shots of my False Face piece, so here they are. what can you tell me about it? Tomas, 1261 A: The False Faces are masks carved from the living trunk of a tree. These masks represent the strange, wild beings who inhabit the forests and rarely, only…
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Argentinian gas mask
I think we may have posted another gas mask under the category of protection. This one is from Argentinia and is probably old and used. These kind of things are quite collectable. If you Google “gas mask/images” you will see many different types. Of course, only weird collectors like myself would ever hang them on the walls of a house. Bob
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Inexpensive West African mask
Q: I found this mask at an antique shop a few years ago. Think I paid around $15. It is 10” long and 7” wide. I would like to find out more about it and hope you can help me. Thanks in advance! Renske, 1259 A: That’s a wonderful mask for $15. People will pay hundreds for a careful reproduction and thousands for an authentic mask. Why not this one? Though it looks West Africa, it is a mixture of many different tribes. All I can tell for sure is that is was artificially aged. I am not an expert on African masks. If you see a mask you like…
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Black old man from Mongolia
Q: I recently bought a lot of various masks. About 30 of them, most are probably made for tourists. Bought them from a lady who was moving out of the country (I’m from Argentina), so most of these are quite hard to find here. This one caught my eye. It’s clearly old, and it seems to fit the style of the Indonesian masks. The paint is naturally chipping, a big part of the horse hair it had is missing, and its made out of papier mache with some burlap backing it up. I’m in love with this piece simply because of its piercing, intimidating gaze, and for how old it…
