Mask - Balinese - Indonesia - Topeng – Sidakarya type (No reserve price)

This Balinese Sidakarya-type topeng mask has a grin poised between laughter and menace, with narrowed eyes, deeply folded cheeks and teeth that jut forward. Curving forehead furrows lead towards a raised ornament, while the brown wooden face is accented by red lips and ochre-painted teeth. Tacked animal-skin strips outline the eyebrows and moustache. In Balinese masked theatre, Sidakarya, “he who completes the ceremony”, brings the concluding blessing. His grotesque expression combines humour with a priestly role. There are worn skin edges, paint losses beneath the upper teeth, surface scuffs and small rim nicks. I received it as a gift from a collector. I am not a specialist; its twentieth-century date is estimated and its performance history unrecorded. Overall dimensions: 18.5 × 13.5 × 8 cm (H × W × D).

Estimate:£0.84

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