Page 106 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

3040 W
A WOOD BHAIRAVA MASK
NEPAL, LATE 15TH/16TH CENTURY
With remains of red puja materials on the surface.
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61567
26 1/4 in. (67 cm) high

$20,000 - 30,000
尼泊爾 十五/十六世紀 木雕陪臚面具

Beautifully carved with iconographic features of a third eye, a crawling snake crown, and
a crescent moon in flaming hair, this large mask represents the Hindu god Bhairava, the
wrathful incarnation of Shiva.

During the beloved annual Indrajatra and Pachali Bhairabjatra festivals taking place in the
Kathmandu valley every September, such masks of Bhairava are often displayed in front
of temples and private dwellings. A liquor jar filled with beer or rice wine is placed behind
the mask, from which a bamboo pipe protrudes through the mouth and distributes the
drink, an act regarded as prasad (or divine gift) to devotees as a blessing from the god.

For other closely related examples of similar size, see Bonhams, New York, 19 March
2012, lot 1094, and 13 September 2011, lot 1008. Also compare with a larger mask
published in Nies, Spirit of Compassion, Antwerp, 1995, pp.28-9.

Provenance
Private Collection, New York

104 | BONHAMS