East Asia, Japan, Edo to Meiji period, ca. mid-19th to early 20th century CE. Striking and expressive, this Japanese gigaku mask depicts Karura, a major Buddhist deity based on the gigantic birds of Hinduism known as Garuda. It was made via the kanshitsu (mixed wood fiber, lacquer as a binder and plaster or powdered oyster shell as an extender, pressed into a mold) molding technique. The black and crimson pigments were created via a dry lacquer technique known as dakkatsu kanshitsu with additional gilding highlighting the eyes, caruncle, and central crest. Japanese characters inscribed on the top of the interior identify the piece as a Karura mask. Size: 6.3" W x 8.8" H (16 cm x 22.4 cm)Karura is a Buddhist deity similar to a Garuda. Karura is one of the fourteen characters in the gigaku, a religious dance-drama that was performed for the Japanese royal court at Buddhist temple ceremonies from the 7th to the 10th century. In the performance, Karura is a mythical giant bird that protects the Buddhist faith. Gigaku masks are the oldest type of Japanese existing masks. Since the plays were traditionally performed in the outdoors at court or temple, the artists who created these masks usually enhanced their visages with exaggerated features, as we see in this example, so they would to maintain their comic effect, even when viewed from afar.A similar wood Gigaku mask of Karura was hammered for 2,500 British Pounds Sterling at Christie's London as lot 5 on December 11th, 2018 (Art of Japan: Online, Online Auction 15462). Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010 All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping. #173501