Q: I bought this mask in Bangkok at Jj mall. The man said he brought the mask back from China. He mentioned it was a Chinese tribal around 100 years old (unsure of how genuine he was being, but I had my Thai friend there speaking with him). I ended up paying a little over $100 US dollars. Most of his merchandise was more expensive than this. Let me know anything else I can provide to help. Miles, 960
A: Sorry for the bad news… Though it (the 2nd photo) is Chinese tribal, it is a recently made, cheap tourist version of a Yao mask. For comparison I’m also posting a much better Yao that I sold a few years ago. These dark faced masks can vary quite a bit in style because the ethnic group is large and scattered all over Southern China, plus the SE Asian mountains. Often called Shaman masks, they are used for other purposes as well.
