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All ethnic mask (topeng) dances in Bali are accompanied with music from a gamelan percussion orchestra as are dramas and other entertainments considered as offerings to honor, please and attract the favor of the gods and ancestral spirits. In the west dancers put on masks to pretend they are someone else. Balinese dancers become the…
Court ministers (patih) in Bali, Indonesia are danced in mask (topeng) performances named Topeng Panjegan where a single dancer interprets 5 legendary characters wearing full face masks, cannot speak and much portray them only through gestures and body language and positions. Patih manis (literally sweet, a good natured, diplomatic minister) is often the first solo…
Vintage miniature lacquer and bamboo hsun ok used on a home altar for offerings to the Buddha statue there with circular tiers repeated on the foot and the stupa finial top.
Given its size this smaller early 20th century Hsun-ok with simple sophisticated designs of with parallel rows of intricate triangular and beaded borders may been placed as decorative piece on a home altar.
Rare Timor ancestral mask, large roughly cut eyes, menacing teeth. Used in animist ritual offerings for the departed to have a resting place during village visits and also repel evil malevolent spirits.
Vintage coin silver Star of David, symbol of Ethiopian Orthodox Church, worn by Falasha Ethiopian Jews, descendants of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Cross centered in star. Top circle on bar is Coptic prototype of Egyptian ankh atop a Latin cross.
Vintage bivalve mold figures like this cow were hand luted and hand painted, in the likeness of Hindu religious figures, soldiers, animals are used in rural India where they are seen as wishes for a better life.
This colorful terracotta image of Shiva and Parvati is aniconic (symbolic) and figurative. Shiva’s is a symbolic lingham (phallus) and Parvati a deity. Together they represent the union of masculine and feminine, thus all existence
Vintage mask of a king made by Balinese carver on island of Lombok blending Hinduism and animism. Mounted on museum quality stand.
Mask carving is among the oldest of Tibetan art and folk-art forms dating to 6th century Bonpo dances, the religion predating Buddhism, that embraces animism and shamanism dances. Totem animal masks were traditionally used in sacred ceremonial dances: shamanic rituals to thank the gods, expel bad spirits, and ask for blessings; operas in performances without…
Vintage “crowns” called an ile ori the “house of the head,” were cowrie shell shrine made to show gratitude for and recognition of the power of the head and manifest Yoruba ideas of individuality and authority. Not meant to be worn they are often placed on altars for prayer and divination and can be a symbol of a Yoruba deity. This headdress with an impressive design was included in the San Francisco International Airport, “Crowning Achievements” exhibition in April-August, 1994. It comes with a Lucite stand.
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