Masks
1
237
13
12
to
29
124
94
262
261
261
31
12
7
3
1
1
8
15
214
25
47
95
27
4
3
3
5
10
24
15
3
3
167
37
35
24
16
75
64
63
58
31
8
5
3
1
1
Masks For Sale
Rustic Antique Wooden Carved Burmese Puppet Head
Located in Stockbridge, GB
Antique Burmese Carved Puppet Head- A
A decorative carved wood and painted Burmese puppet head with glass eyes. Believed to be from the 19th century. It ...
Category
19th Century Burmese Rustic Antique Masks
Materials
Teak
Maschera (Unica) da Krampus in Legno Intagliato e Pelo Caprino - di Luca Pojer
Located in Milano, IT
Questa non è solo una maschera, ma un'autentica opera d'arte. È importante sottolineare che maschere di questo livello sono estremamente rare: gli artisti che le creano le vendono so...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Masks
Materials
Goatskin, Goat Hair, Resin, Wood
Dan Mask from Ivory Coast, Africa, 1950
Located in Buffalo, NY
Dan Mask from Ivory Coast, Africa,, MID 20TH CENTURY.. gREAT COLOR / PATINA..
Category
1950s Ivorian Tribal Vintage Masks
Materials
Wood
Primitive Wooden Mesoamerican Style Hand Carved Mask Sculpture on Stand Statue
Located in Dayton, OH
Late 20th Century Mesoamerican style tribal mask on black finished wooden stand. The mask is carved from part of a tree trunk with intricate detail.
Dimensions:
9.5" x 16" x 21"h
Category
Late 20th Century Primitive Masks
Materials
Metal
Antique Yao Shaman's Mask
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Yao Shaman's Mask
Guizhou Province, China
Early 20th Century
Wood,horse hair, printed paper, nails
Size: 13 1/2" x 8" (34 x 20 cm)
On a custom made metal stand.
Covered inside and o...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Tribal Masks
Materials
Organic Material, Wood, Paper
1970's Nicaraguan Mask Folk Art
Located in Vancouver, BC
A traditional Indian dance mask from the town of Monimbo, adopted by the rebels during the fight against Somoza. These were worn in order to conceal one's identity.
It is a very un...
Category
1970s Nicaraguan Folk Art Vintage Masks
Materials
Metal, Wire
19th Century Japanese Lava Stone Mask
Located in Vancouver, BC
A sculpture of great presence. It’s difficult to say when this work was created, but judging by the erosion of the stone - and the delicate nature and almost mold like features of th...
Category
Mid-19th Century Japanese Arts and Crafts Antique Masks
Materials
Stone, Lava
Songye Basangwe Mask DRC Wall Hanging Mask Circa 1950s
Located in Torquay, GB
On offer is a Basangwe mask from the Songye people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, circa 1950s.
The mask has the typical facial shape of the Basangwe mask.
At the top, it has a pair of stylised birds decorated with punched triangles. Their long beaks seem to suggest Hornbill or Kalao bird.
The eyes are slanted elongated slits, it has narrow nose and protruding circular mouth in a light russet colour.
It has a banded stripe design in black and white more similar to a Songye Kifwebe mask...
Category
Mid-20th Century Congolese Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood, Paint
Ancestral Dan Mask 'Deangle' with Cowrie Shells Large
Located in Torquay, GB
Large sized Dan Mask ('Deangle', 'Dan Gle') from Côte d’Ivoire W.Affrica, circa early 20th century.
To the Dan people, the 'Deangle' embodies the spirit of an individual ancestor d...
Category
Mid-20th Century Ivorian Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood, Paint
Xantolo Mask From The Huasteca Region Of Hidalgo, Mexico, 1970´s
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Xantolo mask from the Huasteca region of Hidalgo. This rare collector's mask was acquired from the town of Tzapotitla in the municipality of Huazalingo in the mid 1970´s.
The Xantolo celebration is a full blown...
Category
1970s Mexican Tribal Vintage Masks
Materials
Wood, Paint
Old Igbo Helmet Mask, Agbogho Mmuo Masquerade
Located in Torquay, GB
A superb Igbo Nigeria helmet mask 'Agbogho Mmuo" or Maiden Spirit.
Worn as masqurades during funerals, cleansing rituals, harvest festivals, weddings and ...
Category
Early 20th Century Nigerian Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood, Paint
Baule-Goli mask carved and painted mid-century
Located in San Francisco, CA
Baule-Goli mask carved and painted mid-century
27 x 2 x 45
Category
20th Century Masks
Materials
Wood
Late 19th/Early 20th Century Carved Hannya Noh Devil Mask Curio
Located in Lowestoft, GB
A rather cheeky looking carved and stained wood devil mask, turn off the century in age.
Possibly reference to the Hannya Noh Mask used within Japanese th...
Category
Late 19th Century European Antique Masks
Materials
Pine
Old Bulu Cameroon Singe Mask Large
Located in Torquay, GB
On offer is a rare large sized 'Singe' Monkey mask from the Bulu people of south central Cameroon. The Bulu are a sub-group of the Cameroon Fang, having originated from Gabon.
This...
Category
Mid-20th Century Cameroonian Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
Dayak Shaman Mask
Located in London, GB
A rare Iban Dayak shaman ritual mask, early to mid 20th century, Kalimantan/Borneo, Indonesia. Hand carved from local jelutong wood with existing decorative lime and charcoal/pigments.
Category
Early 20th Century Indonesian Primitive Masks
Materials
Wood
Collection of Handmade Mexican Folk Art Masks
Located in Atlanta, GA
Collection of Handmade Mexican Folk Art Tin Masks, Mexican, circa 1950s. Each mask is unique and extremely detailed. The largest mask measures 21"...
Category
1950s Mexican Folk Art Vintage Masks
Materials
Copper, Tin
Japanese Okina Noh Mask Old Male with Long White Beard Expressing Wisdom
Located in Fukuoka, JP
Singed Okina Noh mask old male with long white beard expressing wisdom
Mid 20 th century
Size: 15 x 19 x8 cm ( 6x 7.5 x 3 inch )
Weight: 230g ( 0.5 lb )
Material: wood with go...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Showa Masks
Materials
Wood
Vintage Heavy Iron Tribal Art Sculpture Flat Portrait Hanging Face Mask
Located in Dayton, OH
Vintage heavy iron modern art sculpture funerary mask featuring a flattened face with no expression. Stamped TM. Measure: 13".
Category
Late 20th Century Folk Art Masks
Materials
Iron
Indonesian Ceremonial Performance Mask, 19th Century
Located in Fukuoka, JP
Indonesian ceremonial mask.
Age: 19th century
Size: 15 x11x 14.5cm ( 6 x 4.3 x 5.7inch )
Weight: 314g ( 0.7lb )
Material: wood with paint
Good condition, some abrasions as yo...
Category
19th Century Indonesian Antique Masks
Materials
Wood
1950s Catrin "Dandy" Mask, Tlaxcala, Mexico
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Catrin (Dandy) mask
Nahua people, Tlaxcala, Mexico
Wood, gesso, paint
1950s-1960s
Measures: 7? (17.8 cm) high, 6.5? (16.5 cm) wide, 5? (12.7 cm) deep
This mask is called the C...
Category
1950s Mexican Folk Art Vintage Masks
Materials
Wood, Paint
Woman’s Gucci Pony Hair Belt with Brass Buckle
Located in Tarrytown, NY
Woman’s Gucci pony hair belt with brass buckle.
Category
Early 2000s Masks
Materials
Brass
Carnival of Venice Four Vintage Hanging Tiles
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Set of four hand made and painted tiles professionally framed it wood frame , depicting caricatures from The Carnival of Venice. Which is annual festival held in
Venice, Italy.
The festival is world-famous for its
elaborate masks. The celebration takes place over ten days in which people dress up and take part in organized parades or simple processions on the street. The costumes are seventeenth-century Venetian dresses.
Category
20th Century Italian Masks
Materials
Composition
MISTO, Seminara Ceramic Mask, Green, Sophie Dries
Located in Paris, FR
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...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Masks
Materials
Ceramic
MISTO, Seminara Ceramic Mask
Located in Paris, FR
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...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Masks
Materials
Ceramic
Black Italian Masquerade Face or Wall Masks, Signed Ca'd'Oro Venezia 1982
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A set of ceramic masquerade wall masks (male+female) made in Venice in 1982 and bought in the museum shop at Galleria Giorgio Franchetti that houses in the famous Ca'd'Oro at the Gra...
Category
1980s Italian Modern Vintage Masks
Materials
Pottery
Antique Large Hand-Carved & Polychrome Painted Southeast Asian Mask or Sculpture
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This large antique tribal mask or sculpture is unsigned and undocumented, but presumed to have originated from Southeast Asia and done in a folk ar...
Category
Early 20th Century Unknown Folk Art Masks
Materials
Softwood
Traditional, Seminara Ceramic Mask
Located in Paris, FR
Ditto potters with Antonio Bonamico.
The ceramic masks of Seminara are ostentatious and grotesque, with deliberately frightening features to scare away ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Masks
Materials
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Black Dance Mask, Guerrero, Mexico
Located in Point Richmond, CA
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...
Category
1940s Mexican Tribal Vintage Masks
Materials
Wood
Collection of Japanese and Chinese Masks
Located in Atlanta, GA
Collection of eight Japanese and Chinese masks, circa 1950s or earlier. These were recently purchased from the Manhattan estate of a Japanese man who travel...
Category
1950s Japanese Chinoiserie Vintage Masks
Materials
Metal
African Nafana Bedu Plank Mask Goli Tribal Ceremonial Shield Ghana Coast
Located in Dayton, OH
"Mid century carved African Nefana Bedu plank mask sculpture. This wooden plank mask is large and geometrical in form. It was worn over the face with its extremities towering way above the head. The lower part of the mask is spade-shaped and pierced at the center with three holes to allow the wearer to see out and with a third hole for the mouth. Its crest is surmounted by a large circular horn or disk. This group of masks are known as Bedu by the Nafana people who make and use them for ritual use. Measure: 74"
Such plank masks are among the largest masks in Africa. The form of the Bedu mask...
Category
Mid-20th Century Tribal Masks
Materials
Hardwood, Paint
Antique African Carved Toma Landai Tribal Ceremonial Mask Guinea Art Horns
Located in Dayton, OH
Early antique hand carved Toma or Landai mask from Guinea, Africa. “These brooding, often quite large, masks represent a forest spirit, Landai. Masks lik...
Category
Early 20th Century Tribal Masks
Materials
Raffia, Hardwood
TA RA TA TA, Seminara Ceramic Mask
Located in Paris, FR
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...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Masks
Materials
Ceramic
Cariddi, Seminara Ceramic Mask
Located in Paris, FR
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...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Masks
Materials
Ceramic
100 FEARS, Seminara Ceramic Mask
Located in Paris, FR
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...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Masks
Materials
Ceramic
Signed Monumental Folk Art Rouge Taxidermy Headdress Mask
Located in Forney, TX
A magnificent American folk art headdress mask by P.J. Stover, signed, titled "Visions", circa 2008. Remarkably executed, the eclectic, sculptural mixed media wall hanging display is...
Category
Early 2000s American Native American Masks
Materials
Antler, Fur, Leather, Beads, Feathers
Vintage Carved Wooden Head with Removable Feathers, Carved from Single Burr
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this lovely vintage / antique hand carved from a single burr, figured head with removable feathers
I know nothing about this piece other than wh...
Category
20th Century African Bohemian Masks
Materials
Wood
Collection of Worldwide Traveler's Hand Carved Folk Art Masks
Located in Atlanta, GA
Collection of worldwide traveler's hand carved folk art masks, circa 1940s - 1970s, possibly earlier. We purchased the estate of an Atlanta Coca Cola executive, who traveled the worl...
Category
1950s Balinese Folk Art Vintage Masks
Materials
Wood
Wooden Mask, Himachal Pradesh, North India, Mid-20th Century
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Wooden Mask, Karnataka, India, Mid-20th Century
Carved wood with fur and pigment decoration.
Category
Mid-20th Century Indian Masks
Materials
Wood
Pacific Northwest Native Raven Sculpture by Emile Thibert
Located in Atlanta, GA
Pacific Northwest native raven sculpture by Emile Thibert, Canadian, circa 1990s. Signed and dedicated to the original owners underneath.
Emile Thiber...
Category
1990s Canadian Native American Masks
Materials
Wood
Early 20th Century Large Tribal Shield
Located in Sheffield, MA
Highly decorative and impressive shields from the buttress-like roots and/or trunks of mangrove trees. The soft mangrove wood is well suited to be proces...
Category
Early 20th Century Unknown Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
Ibo-Izzi, Nigeria Old ‘Ogbodo Enyi’ Elephant Mask
Located in Boven Leeuwen, NL
This mask type of the Ibo-Izzi, a subgroup of the Ibo, is actually a dance crest. The elephant mask 'ogbodo enyi' is worn horizontally on top of the head...
Category
Early 20th Century Nigerian Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
Antique Thai Tribal Carved Wooden Mask Depicting a Swine with Pierced Eyes
Located in Yonkers, NY
An antique Thai carved wooden tribal mask from the 19th century depicting a swine with pierced eyes, nostrils, textured ground and weathered appearance. Created in Thailand during th...
Category
19th Century Thai Tribal Antique Masks
Materials
Wood
"Ruby" Helmet for Christian Dior
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Extremely rare
Christian Dior / ruby
Ruby helmet for Christian Dior.
Helmet designed for the decoration of Dior boutiques and which has never been comme...
Category
2010s French Masks
Materials
Steel
Moche Copper Bronze Mask
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
A large coper mask of a dignitary with almond shaped, inset shell eyes with pupils and a wide brim type crown. Attached at the brow line, a row of danglers is suspended, aligning the...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Peruvian Pre-Columbian Antique Masks
Materials
Copper
Ceramic Comedy and Tragedy Masks
Located in New York, NY
Whimsical handmade pottery Comedy and Tragedy wall mount masks, in deep cobalt blue and creamy off white glaze. Probably studio made circa 1960/1970...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Masks
Materials
Ceramic, Pottery
Very Important “Nwantantay” African Dance Mask
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
Very important “Nwantamtay” dance African mask, consisting of three sections: The upper in plain rectangular shape surmounted by a crescent shape moon, the middle with beautiful geometric triangles in black bitumen and white kaolin, surrounding a red cruciform in the centre of remarkable contrasting colors, and the lower part or face inscribed in a circular space that inspired numbered great artists like Joan Miro, Picasso and Henry Moore of a very strongly solar symbolism, with a projecting protuberance emanating from the forehead like a sculpted bird beak, that descents toward the mouth. Concentric eyes harmonize with the circular mouth, both with of elegant proportions. The whole mask exudes a supreme harmony and perfect balance rarely seen in this pieces. The back-side presents nice ware that attested the ancient origin and traces of animistic ceremonies as the use of animal blood residues. The painting of brown bitumen or cola, the natural colorants in red and ocher tones and the white kaolin are original and do not show any repainted or restored areas, giving a freshness rarely seen in old pieces. This exceptional mask Bwa, of the Hound`e Region in Burkina-Fasso, was used it the transit ceremonies and funerals manifesting the presence of “Do”, name given to their God sons, protectors and powerful spirits. The round face also represents an owl, the curving beak of the bird plants a seed into the sun, like a female sexual vulva being fecundated by the male organ; the eternal symbol of Ying and Yang, masculine and feminine, and the quest of life and death. This mask of Primitive facture can be compared to the one in the celebrated Verite Collection (this one being larger) sold in Paris at the Hotel Drouot, Saturday June 17, Lot 59, for 80,000 Euros and remarkably stands out from the Pierre and Tannia Matisse sold in Sotheby’s, New York in May 13, 2011. Another similar piece was published in: “Arman et l’art africain...
Category
Early 20th Century Burkinabe Primitive Masks
Materials
Wood
19th Century Extra Large Papier Mâché Hat
Located in Brecht, BE
For lovers of quirky objects and eccentricities ... an extra large papier mâché hat ... lovely patina ...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Masks
Materials
Paper
Willi Huggler Brutalist Style Carved Wood Mask
By Willi Huggler
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Carved grotesque wood mask with pierced eyes, very hooked nose, cigar between very crooked bone teeth. Label on verso reads, “Willi Huggler (Swiss, 1925-2016), Holzschnitzereien, Bri...
Category
20th Century Swiss Tribal Masks
Materials
Bone, Wood
Stamped & Polished Metal Tribal Mask Wall Hanging
Located in Chicago, IL
Stamped and cut polished metal tribal mask. Foliate headdress, pierced and plated lower lip with pierced ears joining together in a necklace. Three dimensional with lacquered black b...
Category
20th Century American Masks
Materials
Lacquer
Pair Brass Carnivale Masks Mounted On Black Marble
Located in Chicago, IL
Equisite pair of cast brass Carnivale masks mounted on black marble plinth bases. Very nicely patinated.
Category
20th Century Italian Masks
Materials
Marble, Brass
Set of Eight Framed Masks
Located in Stamford, CT
Eight vintage masks of a rogues' gallery framed in black plastic frames.
Priced as a set.
Category
1960s American Vintage Masks
Materials
Paper
Misto, Seminara Ceramic Mask, Blue
Located in Paris, FR
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...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Masks
Materials
Ceramic
Pre-Columbian Chimu Gold Mask With Scar
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
A large sheet gold mask depicting a stylized human face having an individually fashioned and applied nose. Large low relief repousse eyes and rectangular mou...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Peruvian Pre-Columbian Antique Masks
Materials
Gold
Handblown Gold Flecked and Fused Black Murano Glass Carnivale Masks
Located in Chicago, IL
Pair of Murano glass carnivale masks. Handblown and molded gold flecked black cased glass with infused colorful circular details.
Category
1980s Italian Vintage Masks
Materials
Murano Glass
Nocturnal Bird Mask, Nigeria, Africa, circa 1950
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
Very beautiful mask with large pronounced eyes with the circular cavity shape. The mask depicts a nocturnal bird that can see in the darkness and manifest the presence of divinities ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Nigerian Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
Pre-Columbian Funerary Gold Mask with Royal Turquoise Beads in its Eyes
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
A high karat heavy sheet gold human face mask with large almond-shaped eyes and recessed pierced pupils. Multiple small perforations along the upper and lower edges for attachment. L...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Ecuadorean Pre-Columbian Antique Masks
Materials
Gold
Art Deco Period, African Ritual Tribal Oxidized Bronze ‘Brow Mask’, 1920s
Located in New York, NY
This superb example of the ritual African ‘Brow Mask’ is a unique creation of a truly skillful artist from the Jimini tribe of the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) during the Art Deco per...
Category
1920s African Primitive Vintage Masks
Materials
Bronze
3 Mid-Century Tesselated Stone Aztec Masks
Located in New York, NY
3 Mid-Century modern pre-columbian style Aztec masks made with various tesselated semi-precious stone (lapis,onyx, quartz, mother-of-pearl) (PRICED EACH)
Category
20th Century Central American Mid-Century Modern Masks
Materials
Lapis Lazuli, Onyx, Quartz
Antique and Vintage Masks
Today, art enthusiasts and venturesome interior designers find a lot to love and appreciate about antique and vintage masks, particularly as they have earned a distinct place amid a collection of folk art and other collectibles and curiosities in contemporary homes.
Folk art refers to art that people, not classically trained, created for either utilitarian or decorative purposes. With respect to visual art in folk art, it is typically reflective of a community’s culture and usually handmade by craftspeople working within a popular tradition. Masks, as part of this history, have been used in carnivals, theater, medicine, therapy, religion and more. The use of masks in rituals and sacred ceremonies goes back thousands of years, and masks in general are believed to be much older. And all kinds of other uses have been found for masks and face coverings over time. We have enlisted these accessories for protection, to signal modesty, facilitate flirtation, enable licentiousness or simply to look cool.
Archaeologists found a mask in Palestine that is believed to be 9,000 years old, a Neolithic-era stone mask that may have been part of rituals associated with the worship of ancestors. Some tribal masks are worn as an offering to the gods. Masks are among the most important African art forms, for example, and traditional African masks can be used to lend a concrete form to an invisible spirit. Dancers donning wooden tribal masks celebrate important events to honor their deceased ancestors. These masks are also very important devices for storytelling and sharing the oral history of a community.
For Asian artists, specific colors are used in masks to convey different values and ideas. In Japan, a red Oni mask worn by performers during a festival might signify anger, while in China’s Peking Opera, a mask that has been hand-painted gold would be worn by an immortal.
Mexican craftspeople make masks for traditional celebrations and ceremonial dances. Mexican masks are part of the country’s folk-art traditions that go back thousands of years and play a role in festivals and theater. A common symbol of the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead is a skull, which is widely represented in masks (although the innumerable activities associated with the holiday are by no means universal).
We’re inviting you to explore and pay respect to the long folk-art traditions that underpin mask-making by introducing antique and vintage masks to your space. Find an exciting collection on 1stDibs today.
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Wooden Face Masks
Mask Wood Indonesian
Papier Mache Mask
Deity Mask
Mexican Wood Mask
Vintage Carnival Mask
African Hand Craft Wood Mask
African Wooden Mask
Dan Dan Masks
Fertility Mask
African Carved Wooden Masks
Bali Masks
Gabon Mask
Mask Paper Mache
Mexican Carved Masks
Topeng Mask
Vintage Mexican Mask
Ghana Mask