Wooden Mask Identification

I could use some help please I’ve looked through hundreds of pictures, I’ve tried reverse image search but I can’t find a match.

Can anyone tell me who this rather imposing character is supposed to represent?

Framed in shadow box. Approximate size of mask is
7” x 5”


Thank you

 

the eyes and ears make me think a recent Indonesian mask..

 

The eyes, ears and mouth make me think a recent Sri Lankan mask.
Could be a fantasy mask based on a mix of Sri Lankan and Japanese. But not traditional Balinese or any other Indonesian.

 

Thank goodness for that!!

 

Japanese or Javanese?

I would think there would be a greater chance of a Japanese/Indonesian mix give the occupation during WWII where as Sri Lanka was used Britain's Southeast Asia Command.

Perhaps I am ignorant of other post war ties the two countries now share?

 

Looks like an Asian mash-up.
Sri Lankan:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/...ces_and_flame_headdress_Wellcome_L0037021.jpg

Japanese:

O-Beshimi, by Bidou Yamaguchi
https://blogs.mprnews.org/state-of-the-arts/2011/02/art-vs-tradition-in-japanese-mask-making/

Balinese:

https://picclick.com/Vintage-Balinese-Mask-Barong-Sai-Demon-Topeng-Hand-254046366199.html

 

Definitely not Javanese. Nothing traditional Indonesian.

I thought Sri Lankan with a possible Japanese influence because of the rather cruel-looking grotesque face. If so, it is fantasy, as I said before.

 

@2manybooks , we cross-posted.
I agree, a mix of Sri Lankan and Japanese. Can't see any Balinese influence, but let's call it Asianesque.

 

.

 

Indonesian mask makers created a character called Belanda to represent the invading Dutch. He was sometimes used to replaced Klana in performances.

Perhaps this is something similar, a Sri Lankan representation of the Japanese "demons" that were bombing their island during WWII?

The "crown" the mask is wearing could imply something like this Japanese wedding hat:

 

Please don't think the Japanese occupation during WWII left a lasting influence on Indonesian culture, other than the unfortunate children conceived with the even more unfortunate 'comfort girls' (read sex slaves). Many Indonesians say that 3 years of Japanese occupation did far more damage than 300 years of Dutch colonialism.

 

I think you mis-interperate my meaning.
I was speaking of the "demonization" of war time enemies:





It would have been quite natural for the Indonesians to be argy at the occupation. But it would be equally natural for Sri Lankan people to imagine the Japanese as evil for bombing their island and for that sentiment to show up in the theater/ceremony of the time.

At the end of the war the masks might have been given to the Brits as tokens of appreciation or when over time that sentiment passed away those masks would have no cultural relevance and would then be sold off to the touristas that did not know any better

 

It could, and maybe this is just a Japanese mask that komo, 2many and I don't know about. The facial expression looks very Japanese. With a p.

 

I don't know if it is natural to the Sri Lankans. I don't know enough of their culture to say either way.
The cartoons you posted are Western, btw, and they were a temporary thing. Fortunately wartime Japan didn't have a lasting influence on Western art either.

But I have come to think it may be a Japanese mask I don't know about.

 

yes, my point exactly

I will look further into Japanese masks, thank you.

 

This time it is I who think you are misinterpreting what I said before. It is just one of those days, I guess. My point was:
It has already been established that the mask is not very old. And as there was no lasting influence of wartime Japan on Indonesian culture, just like there wasn't on Western culture, I can't see this being Indonesian.
Besides, it doesn't even look Indonesian. I think the lack of an Indonesian look rules out any contemplation on art in occupied Indonesia.

 

First of all please let me apologize if I have somehow offended you I'm not sure how that has happened.

Now I hope you will forgive me as I am going to say something which could potentially offend you further (though I hope you will be able to see it in the informative manner in which it is meant)

It is obvious (to me) that there is a language/cultural hurdle impacting our communication.

I would never have imagined that you stating your opinion on something meant that I should consider that thing as "established"

But even if I had, "not very old" does not exclude 1942 to me.

Furthermore the idea that you could quote many Indonesians as saying that

yet go on to claim that the occupation has had no lasting influence on the culture is dizzying to me.

Please understand, I am not arguing against your positions, I'm simply letting you know I don't comprehend them.

That being said I find a great deal of what you share to be very helpfulI and informative. Not just on my threads but where ever I have come across you on the forum. And I'm happy to discuss the possible Sri Lankan origins of the mask (which is where I thought I steered the conversation when I posted the cartoons) or wherever the development of facts may point us.

 

Please don't worry, you haven't.

I agree, 'not very old' can mean different things to different people. I meant late 20th century.
To many people who buy souvenir masks, 1942 is antique and valuable. Some get rather upset if someone bursts their bubble, so I am usually a bit careful in my wording.

The 'antiqued' finish generally indicates 1950s and later in Asian crafts. In Java that used to be done with shoe polish, other regions probably use something similar.

It is Indonesia. Indonesians generally don't dwell on the past, but get on with life. Which doesn't mean they don't know their history. They do, and can assess it. So they can assess the impact the Japanese occupation has had, they know about the cruelty, the famines and the millions of lives lost. On the other hand, they also know that the end of WWII was a chance to gain independence.

But the traditional arts of for instance Java, which you mentioned, remain firmly rooted in the centuries old Hindu-Buddhist tradition. Their modern art has evolved from that.
It is that way with most art forms in the world.
During the same period, the Netherlands suffered a German occupation. No contemporary Dutch artist makes art ridiculing the German occupiers. They have moved on. Which doesn't mean they don't know what happened. They do and can assess it, just like the Indonesians can assess their history.

The Indonesians welcome everyone, also the Japanese and the Dutch, because hanging on to anger damages the soul.
Besides, both the Japanese and the Dutch are major trading partners and investors.

After considering different options, I was thinking a possible Japanese mask.
The side wings together with the bulging eyes first led us in the direction of Sri Lanka, but if we disregard the wings, it looks very Japanese imo. (Japanese with a p )
Indonesia was never an option to me, simply because nothing about it looks Indonesian to me.

So you could investigate Japanese inspired masks, rather than Sri Lankan.
The 'antiqued' finish is not traditional to any culture of course, which could still mean it is someone's mask fantasy.

 

I agree with the not very old and asian mish-mash arguments. But let me add that this is not really a mask anyway; it is much too small and as far as I can tell does not even have any eye holes.

 

I agree, a decorative souvenir wall-hanging from ......
Or a project by a craftsperson who is interested in Asian masks.
For a moment I thought the 'holes' in the headdress were eyeholes, and the mask could be worn with an enormous wig, like you see in some Japanese plays. But they weren't, and an actor/dancer would find it very difficult to breathe without a hole lower down.