**Originally Listed At $100**

Indonesia, Bali or Java, ca. early 20th century CE. A hand-carved wood mask with prominent bulging eyes, a long, pointed, upturned nose, a black coiffure, goatee, attached fiber mustache, and a finely carved headdress. This mask is in the Topeng style -- actually the Indonesian word for mask -- which for centuries has been worn during the dramatic dances enacted in Bali and to a lesser extent Java that depict traditional stories of kings, princes, heroes, and myths. In these dances, the entire story is performed by only four or five actors playing all the parts, both male and female. As a result, actors will have around forty masks like this one that are only his; there is believed to be a special bond between actor and mask and that when he dons the mask, he enters a kind of trance, connected to the spiritual world. Size: 5.5" W x 6.75" H (14 cm x 17.1 cm)

Provenance: Ex-Adeon Gallery, Chicago, IL, acquired prior to 1970.

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#121078

Age crack over right eye/cheek. Expected surface wear with nicks and losses to pigment as shown.