(H074)
Rahwana with Moustache from Central Java
£200
This mask is made carved out of wood and painted with enamel paints of the kind that began to be widely used in rural Java in the 1970's. The eyes are accentuated with drawing pins and it has an unusual moustache of brown hair like fibers. It has been used rarely and the mouthpiece inside is an addition probably put on by the antique dealer in Java from whom Thierry Durieux collected this mask. The name Sendor written in the inside is unusual and might have been the dancer's name. The fact that this mask has very inadequate breathing holes might have contributed to the fact that it was rarely used. The character of this mask could be Rahwana although it could be any other demon villain as well. Rahwana is the demon antagonist in the Indian Ramayana epic.