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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;all_fakes, post: 971156, member: 55&quot;]JD makes good points; I might mention that is best to approach the &quot;holes/no holes&quot; issue with some knowledge of the particular culture; some cultures traditionally have holes through the eyes; others might have holes or slits near the eyes.</p><p>In particular, larger Northwest Coast Native masks made for native use will usually not have eyeholes, and are an exception to the rule that lack of eyeholes means non-authentic.&nbsp; Smaller ones may have eyeholes and a &quot;shelf&quot; that the wearer grips in his teeth; others may be hand-held over the face; but larger ones are usually danced &quot;blind,&quot; requiring an assistant who leads the dancer around.</p><p>These big ones may weigh 40 pounds, and are generally balanced on the wearer&#039;s head and shoulders by a cord running from the back of the mask to the wearer&#039;s belt; and one can judge authenticity or possibly even &quot;has been danced&quot; by the presence of the necessary padding and belt-rigging.</p><p>Many Northwest Coast artists will carve items intended only for display, sale to collectors; and my own practice is to refer to these as masks, if the artist does so; even though intended only for wall-hanging.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; In the artists mind, the distinction is not whether they have eye-holes or not, or whether they are called &quot;masks&quot; or not; the distinction is that some items are carved for sale to collectors, and for wall-hanging; others are made for use by those natives who are entitled to the crests they represent, and have inherited the right to the dances that they will be used in.&nbsp; One can&#039;t always tell that difference by viewing the mask itself, though sometimes, if lucky, there might be provenance available, or even a listing of the dances where the mask has been used.</p><p>But I digress....it is indeed true that for many cultures, a mask intended to be worn will have eyeholes; one intended for décor will not.&nbsp; In those cultures, the eyes are certainly a useful diagnostic feature.</p><p>But because this particular &quot;mask&quot; is too small to be worn, any eye-holes will be purely decorative, and not an indication of &quot;authenticity.&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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