Description
This is a hand-carved and meticulously painted Citipati, or skull mask, a significant piece of Tibetan Buddhist ritual and artistic tradition. The mask is hand-carved from wood and painted with a vibrant, distressed deep orange/red-ochre hue to resemble aged wood and bone. It features intricate details, including a crown of smaller skulls, complex facial carvings, and traditional symbolic elements like the central wisdom eye. The mask represents the Citipati, a deity associated with cremation and the charnel ground, and is used in the traditional Cham dance ceremonies, embodying the impermanence of existence.
Material: Hand-carved hardwood, traditional pigments, and aged finish.
Design: A traditional Tibetan/Nepalese-style skull mask, featuring a prominent, stylized Citipati face. The design includes a central third eye (wisdom eye), deep-set eye sockets, detailed nasal and jaw structures, and an elaborate crown made of multiple smaller skulls. The mask is hand-painted with detailed scrollwork on the crown and a textured, distressed finish on the main face, with red accents inside the mouth and eyes, in a classic warm color palette.