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Javanese Wayang (puppet theater) Topeng (literally “pressed against the face” or mask) is a very refined dance form accompanied by gamelan music. In Bali Topeng tua is the charming dance…
This traditional Patih (minister) Keras (hard, strong, forceful) Balinese mask is deeply carved, and his huge red lips symbolize a tough, intense, easy to anger but powerful man in a position of prestige. Exaggerated facial elements of large bulging eyes, a powerful stare, huge, bright red lips and a thick animal hair/hide mustache indicate his internal strength as a trusted minister carrying out his king’s wishes. This mask was personally collected in Bali in the 1970s and is in excellent condition with minor scratches and losses consistent with age.
Topeng Dalem is a mask of an idealized, refined and upright model of a historical Hindu King and is usually a white mask, the color of purity. The dance presents actions and gestures validating the traits of a good king: grace, poise, dignity and refinement. This piece is well carved, balanced, in fine proportion and the crown, the triangular third eye and the animal hide and hair eyebrows and mustache are well integrated as is the mask’s pleasant smile. It is in very good condition with a wash applied as a patina to make the mask look older. It was personally collected in Bali in the 1970s.
Wearing a full mask of an ideal high-born Hindu king (dalem), dancers from Bali perform folk-art and ethnic-art dances without speech using only body language, gestures and movements to depict…
This mask is patih keras, a strong king’s prime minister in orange symbolizing a tough, intense and powerful person reinforced by his large bulging eyes, powerful stare, red lips and full black moustache. Personally collected in Bali in the 1970s, this beautifully carved mask is in excellent condition with a wash applied on the back to make it look older.
This fine, deeply carved and painted Balinese mask is the king’s strong prime minister (patih keras), a position of prestige usually filled by warriors of the second Hindu (ksatrya) caste. The large bulging eyes increase the power of his stare and the outsized thick bright red lips symbolize his intensity. This mask was personally collected in Bali in the 1970s and is in excellent condition with minor hair loss on the eyebrows.
This fine vintage historical ethnic Balinese mask is Kebo Taruna. the powerful Balinese minister (patih) feared by Gaja Mada the brilliant Javanese “Elephant General” who brought the Indonesian Hindu Majapahit Empire to its peak and conquered Bali in 1343. His peculiar half-smile, forceful eyes and angular nose are carved to complement his intense expression, make it look more forceful and add energy to the mask. These features describe the minister’s power and confidence. Finely carved and embellished with animal hide and hair for his mustache and eyebrows, this mask is in excellent condition.
Click here for the blog Indonesian Dance Masks (Topeng): Spiritually Connecting the Community
Made in Pagan this miniature hsun ok demonstrates the remarkable sense of design of Burmese wood carvers. It is crafted in two separate parts and replicates the shape of larger hsun-Ok, which traditionally have covers with spired lids topped by elegant finials that imitate the soaring outline of Burmese stupa finials. This modest piece has circular tiers repeated on the foot and the stupa finial top.
Given its small size, this hsun ok may be a decorative piece rather than an offering vessel. It has a beautiful profile rising from a woven bamboo base, rounded center, topped by a stupa double bulbous finial. Small but elegant, it has hand applied rows of lacquer and ash lines, triangles and beaded borders and a warm patina.
This traditional but unusually small mask (topeng) of Rangda was a rare toy or was used to teach children Balinese lore and religious and artistic expression. It has wonderfully carved upper fangs, bulging eyes and protruding teeth and, as a personification of evil Rangda, who leads an evil army that instills anxiety and fear.
Timor masks like this are rare and characterized by large roughly cut eyes, the absence of some teeth and the remaining ones being menacing. They are stored in the rafters above the house hearth accounting for their smoky black color. Often decorated with animal hide with hair, the facial pieces have either not darkened fully in the rafters or, when placed on top of each other, did not darken evenly. Frequently a bit threatening due to the black color, missing teeth and their frequent lack of balance, these ancestral masks are used in offering rituals designed to drive off malevolent spirits.
This colorful terracotta image devotional image of Shiva and Parvati was used for daily puja in a Hindu home. Shiva is represented by a lingham, a symbolic phallus, while Parvati is portrayed as a female deity figure. The dark green tree behind them highlights both of them and a garland of colorful flowers draped over the dark Shiva lingham emphasizes the importance and power of Shiva. The orange and black snake at the apex of the garland is Vasuli, the charm Shiva usually wares around his neck who represents Shiva’s power and fearlessness, while Parvati reaches across to the lingham to designate Shiva as the central focus of the composition.
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