Unknown Masks

MISTO invites itself into your interior to ward off spells, evil spirits and evil influences. Sophie Dries reinvents the traditional Calabrian mask with her contemporary graphic li...

In Greek mythology, the name CARIDDI (Charybdis in English) belonged to a monster that lived in the sea between Calabria and Sicily and destroyed ships by swallowing them up and spitting them back out, generating dangerous whirlpools in the water. This myth is reinterpreted in the form of a mask, which inverts the traditional convex surface to create a concave volume inspired by the underwater world. The mask invites the gaze into the blue depths of its smooth interior, where an uncanny protrusion emerges in the shape of a nose, a signature motif in Giovanni De Francesco’s artistic production. Each nose-island is different from the others; every mask has a unique beauty accentuated by imperfections, smudges, and uncontrollable colors, invoking the unpredictability of fear. This perception overturns the ferocious symbolism of the legendary monster, rewriting CARIDDI as a welcoming narrative. The artist’s explorations of fear, danger, and the unknown become particularly poignant when placed in the recent historical context of Calabria and the Mediterranean Sea. In the exceptional conditions of the present moment, when hundreds of millions of people are spending more time at home than ever before in living memory, the homeware brand TRAME wants to share the inspiring and supportive influences of these Mediterranean ritual objects with the entire world. The masks, whether the traditional forms or the contemporary design interpretations, reveal a sense of both timelessness and contemporaneity in their aspirational evocation of a social life with more serenity and less fear. Details: - Dimension: approximately 28 H x 22 W x 8 D cm - Material: 100% Mediterranean terracotta clay - Technique: 100% handmade in Italy - Each handcrafted CARIDDI Seminara mask is unique. Picture on an indicative basis. - 14-days return policy - In stock Giovanni De Francesco (Bergamo 1976), lives and works between Milan and Paris. He is a visual artist dedicated to sculptural installations through the use of plastic materials, photography, video, painting and sound. Since 1997 he has taken part in many personal exhibits as well as collective ones. He an artistic consultant at the Luisa delle Piane gallery in Milan and is a founding member of the Monstera theatre company. He occasionally collaborates with Andre Branzi...

The apotropaic (warding off evil) mask from Seminara can be distinguished by its horns, wide eyes, mustache, and screaming mouth with its tongue sticking out. The masks are finished in enormous wood fired kilns, which adds an uncontrollable twist to the features and colors rendered by the artisan’s hands—the final touch in their fierce and imperfect beauty. The demonic aspect of this mask is manifested in order to be expelled, bringing serenity to the owner and ridding the home of negative energy. Giovanni De Francesco takes an idiosyncratic approach to the traditional mask, aiming not for verisimilitude but for a rough impression of the volumes of the face. Using sculptural gestures to shape the clay, he accentuates the fundamental geometry and makes the shapes more grotesque. Incense can also be placed within TA RA TA TA’s ceramic jaws for ritual burning. This function alludes to a specific variation of the typical mask in in the form of a chimneypot: with smoke pouring out of its mouth and eyes, the mask would appear much more ferocious—and thus even more powerful. Details: - Dimension: approximately 32 H x 25 W x 10 D cm - Material: 100% Mediterranean terracotta clay - Technique: 100% handmade in Italy - Each handcrafted TA RA TA TA Seminara mask is unique. Picture on an indicative basis. - 14-days return policy - In stock Giovanni De Francesco (Bergamo 1976), lives and works between Milan and Paris. He is a visual artist dedicated to sculptural installations through the use of plastic materials, photography, video, painting and sound. Since 1997 he has taken part in many personal exhibits as well as collective ones. He an artistic consultant at the Luisa delle Piane gallery in Milan and is a founding member of the Monstera theatre company. He occasionally collaborates with Andre Branzi...

The traditional masks of the Calabrian town of Seminara are intended to chase away evil from the home, dispel fears and gossip with their exaggerated and grotesque features. The mask...

African mask in hand painted wood, 20th century Angola.

Mid-20th century black dance mask, Guerrero, Mexico A nice old mask from Guererro, Mexico, used in the Tlacololero Dance of the Tlactapa and probably fr...

Ditto potters with Antonio Bonamico. The ceramic masks of Seminara are ostentatious and grotesque, with deliberately frightening features to scare away ...

This antique carved statue of Christ nailed on the cross was crafted in France, circa 1850. Found in a private chapel in the Rhone Valley, the large cross features a detailed hand ca...

MISTO invites itself into your interior to ward off spells, evil spirits and evil influences. Sophie Dries reinvents the traditional Calabrian mask with her contemporary graphic li...

This very flat mask originates from the Atoni people of Timor. For the Timorese people masks portray both male and female ancestors, worn by warriors to scare off enemies or during c...

Early 20th century zoomorphic African ceremonial mask or puppet head sculpture attributed to the tribes people of Burkina Faso. This meticulously crafted wooden African mask or head ...

Light masks like these represented the spirit of an ancestor and were used for social control by Ngil, the judiciary association. The facial markings, abstract features and strong, e...