Contemporary Greek carnival masks

Q: I haven’t seen any photos of contemporary Greek masks in the site yet, so I thought I could share one to bring some attention to their great carnival tradition. In the attached picture you can see the main masks of the Boules carnival (Bride and Janissary) from Naoussa, in Greece. I had the opportunity to spend some time with an artisan family that have been making these masks and costumes for generations, and I learned how much tradition there is in every aspect of it (masks & costumes, performances, dancing, etc.). When I got these masks then, I even got the male one custom-fitted to my head! (the in-process pictures are hilarious but not worth sharing :)).

So these became some of my favorites in my collection. I’m more interested in traditional masks, specially if I can meet the people behind them (artists, dancers, actors, etc.). So, whenever I travel I do some research on the local customs and then try to visit the makers and learn more. Rey, 1700

A: We love seeing masks that are being used in culture today. Beautiful folk art is still alive!

Please note that we have archived our 1700th mask today. This website is an additional reference source to our book, Masks of the World, published five years ago.