Q: I acquired this mask on eBay. The seller told me it had been collected from an abandoned hut in East Timor and was circa 1800. That sounded a little romantic to me but it certainly looks very old and has a great character. Does it look Timorese to you? Mark, 842
A: Submitting two Mystery Masks in a row is something I try to avoid, but I must make an exception here. First you come up with an intriguing Mexican mask and then you follow up with an even “older” one from halfway around the world on the island of Timor. Both are powerful and very representative of their much different cultures. (I put “older” in quotes because we can’t always be sure whether a mask looks old because of constant usage or artificial aging.) B
One Comment
Chris
Ancient or not, this is a fascinating piece, because it is so basic: put three holes in a round and you get a face 🙂 it has character indeed!