East Asia

The best Noh masks are carved wood

Japanese Noh
Japanese Noh

Q: This Noh mask is made up of layers– the back is black lacquer, then white gesso, and finally a brown fibrous material. 21cm tall. Any idea of it’s age, what character it represents?  Rho, 530

A: The Noh theater tradition goes way back. The best masks have always been carved wood. For over 100 years they have also been molded out of composite materials like this one, papier mache, and ceramics. Yours could be 19th century. It’s a male character, of which there are many that are hard to distinguish from one another. Maybe one of our bloggers is a Noh theater enthusiast and can introduce us to this guy. A-

 

2 Comments

  • alex hearne

    this is amazing guys keep up the good work and make and find more masks so we can see all the amazing work from the old day fellas like the suid mask, mitch muzzed up 3stopmsuids

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