**Originally Listed At $400**

Central Asia, Nepal, ca. 19th to early 20th century CE. A hand-carved wooden shaman or festival mask with a goat or horsehair beard and 3 iron discs set in the chin. The visage is simplistic, with almond shaped eyes and open slit mouth. The lustrous surface burnish was created by coating the wood in yak butter fat and charring over a fire. The hairs are attached via pitch, and the nose is also coated in this mixture. Masks like this were part of animist and shaman traditions that developed in the harsh, wild environment of the Himalayas. Size: 10.25" L x 7" W (26 cm x 17.8 cm)

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#172912

Stable fissures around nose and flaking to pitch surface. Old stable pressure fissures in wood. Lustrous patina throughout, and cord on verso for suspension.