Chinese opera exists in many forms including the popular Nuo opera that is a Chinese native religious dance and opera ritual performed in provincial villages in Southern China since antiquity, characterized by ferocious masks, unique dresses, adornments, a unique language, and mysterious scenes and includes singing, dancing and performers wearing masks and costumes. With origins in spirit and ancestor worship and Taoism, Nuo is performed to exorcise malevolent spirits, presents religious and cultural values and explores ancient origins, the world of the gods and spirits, historical legends, folktales and celebrated stories from popular literature. Nuo masks indicate the nature, temperament and manner of specific gods enhanced by distinctive gestures, with gods of the same category sharing common features. Masks are viewed as family protectors and Nuo masks or statues are often placed in homes to repel devils, disease and misfortune and attract blessings and luck.
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The origins of Nuo Opera, performed in provincial villages in Southern China since antiquity, is found in spirit and ancestor worship and Taoism. Performances use a few dozen to 200 masks having distinctive facial features, decorations, regional and ethnic individuality and aesthetic diversity. Usually carved from poplar or willow which are light and less likely…
This amusing antique Nuo Opera mask portrays Tudi Gong, the benevolent Earth god with a smiling animated face, long eyebrows, a hemp beard and large ears wearing a high decorative hat. Tudi is a zhengshen, a god who is kindly, honest with a gentle disposition, symbolizing the great power of good, through which evil can be defeated. Nuo was popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties and although they are still performed in rural areas, there are few remaining troupes.
We cannot precisely identify this pair but the seller said the costume details were of opera figures which were extremely popular during the Qing dynasty until it ended. Beautifully carved from a very dense hardwood, the figure and wife sit on a 3 level pedestals with long back supports. Clearly an official with a deeply…
This delightful doll mounted on a frosted acrylic stand is dressed as a bearded official wearing a traditional ‘spread-wing” official’s hat. Originally mounted on a wood stick seen under his attire, he wears a dark blue and gold robe with a loose black, red and silver official’s belt and boots. Although dressed as a Chinese official, he is clearly an entertainer. He holds a set of paper clappers (Kuaiban)– meaning “fast boards,” a two-millennia old Chinese castanets-like instrument made of bamboo or wood slats tied together which entertainers rattle, shake, or clap together to produce a complementary sound or beat. This piece is in excellent condition with expected signs of wear and use in the clothing and minor paint losses.
This doll is a Chinese opera dancer whose costume decorated with 5-petal plum blossom on the sash symbolizing longevity and, with its 5 petals, a wish for the Five Blessings or Happinesses: prosperity, long life, health, living a virtuous life and dying a natural death.
This charmingChinese Nuo Opera dancer wears a costume decorated with 5-petal plum blossoms symbolizing longevity and a wish for the Five Blessings or Happinesses: prosperity, long life, health, living a virtuous life and dying a natural death.
Originally mounted on the wood stick between his legs and now inserted to its acrylic stand, this vintage male doll is an attendant offering a huge peach. His large oval head is almost bald and his black hair remains only in a small patches on the sides of his head. He wears a typical colorful folk-art Chinese dance costume: bright red shoes, yellow pants, a greenish-blue coat with florals, a high sequined yellow belt, and a wide blue sash outlined with silver and gold thread and colored 5-petal silver sequin plum blossoms hanging down to the base evoking a wish for the Five Blessings or Happinesses. It is in very good condition with expected wear and minor paint losses and charming spotting on the face.
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