£500 - £800
A wooden shrine bust mask of Bhairava, Kathmandu valley, 18th century or earlier, ornately carved with the God's attributes: heavy jewelled earrings and serpent necklace, coiling hair and crescent headdress topping a crown of skulls centred by a bodhisattva head, the fearsome face is punctuated with wide-open staring eyes beneath furled brows, centred by the third eye and an open flaming mouth pierced by a hole through which a straw can be placed, evidence of surface polychrome decoration, h:50cm, d:13cm, w:31.5cm Note: Bhairava is a fearsome form of the Hindu deity Shiva, particularly revered by the Newari people of the Kathmandu valley. The mask is activated during the festival of Indra Jatra, where a jar filled with liquor is placed behind the mask, from which a pipe or straw protrudes through the mouth. Crowds fiercely compete for the honour to be the first to drink from the straw; consumption conveys good health and fortune. See a more ornate gilded example in The Met Museum collection, Object Number: 2012.444.2 and a similar carved wood example sold at Bonhams, New York, 19th March, 2018, 'Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art', Lot 3040, https://www.bonhams.com/auction/24358/lot/3040/a-wood-bhairava-mask-nepal-late-15th16th-century/ Provenance: The Alain Rouveure Collection
Written condition reports are not available for this sale. Additional photographs of lots are available on request and at the saleroom staff's discretion. When bidding, buyers acknowledge that they are fully satisfied as to the description and condition of the lot.
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