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Masks For Sale
African Mende Carved Wood Helmet Mask
Located in Astoria, NY
African Mende Carved Wood Helmet Mask, together with Segy Gallery documentation, atop a square ebonized wood base. Overall: 16" H x 9.25" W x 9.5" D. Provenance: Segy Gallery, New Yo...
Category
Late 19th Century Sierra Leonean Tribal Antique Masks
Materials
Wood
Antique Mexican Diablo Mask
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
We offer this rare and very antique Mexican Diablo mask in wood, circa 1940. Great patina.
Category
1940s Mexican Folk Art Vintage Masks
Materials
Wood
Early 20th Century Hand-Carved Wood Tribal Mask from Atoni Tribe Timor
Located in Jimbaran, Bali
This very flat mask originates from the Atoni people of Timor, featuring two very small eye holes. For the Timorese people masks portray both male and female ancestors, worn by warri...
Category
Early 20th Century Indonesian Other Masks
Materials
Wood
A large mask by Agostino Dessi
Located in London, GB
A large mask by Agostino Dessi depicting Michaeangelo's David, papier-mâché, signed to the reverse.
Agostino Dessì (b. 1952) is a renowned Italian mask maker from Sardinia, celebrat...
Category
Mid-20th Century Masks
Materials
Paper
Japanese Wood Bugaku Mask of Korobase Edo Period
Located in Atlanta, GA
A striking Japanese carved wood mask with polychrome paint and lacquer surface. This rare mask is dated to the Edo period (first half of 19th century and possibly earlier). The mask ...
Category
19th Century Japanese Japonisme Antique Masks
Materials
Wood, Lacquer, Paint
Antique Carved Wood Mask
Located in Vienna, AT
Carved Wood Mask, African Art
Category
20th Century Beninese Masks
Materials
Hardwood
Mende Women's Helmet Mask
Located in Chicago, IL
This helmet mask created by the Mende people of Sierra Leone was made for the women of their tribe to wear while dancing. Commissioned by women for their ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Sierra Leonean Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
Songye Kifwebe Mask University Museum Plaster Cast
By Songye Tribe
Located in Sharon, CT
Perfectly accurate plaster cast reproduction of perhaps the most recognizable Songye Kifwebe mask. A Pennsylvania University Museum cast of their famous mask.
Category
Mid-20th Century American Tribal Masks
Materials
Plaster
Hand-Carved Wood Javanese ‘Wayang Topeng’ Theatre Mask, Indonesia, c. 1900
Located in Jimbaran, Bali
This early 20th century ‘Wayang topeng’ mask was used in Javanese masked dance performances. This mask features a dark red polychrome and resembles a bird-...
Category
Early 20th Century Indonesian Other Masks
Materials
Wood
Hand-Carved Wood Javanese ‘Wayang Topeng’ Theatre Mask, Indonesia c. 1900
Located in Jimbaran, Bali
A visibly old mask from the Javanese masks theatre ‘wayang topeng’: carved from hard wood, and painted on the front side. The mask shows clear traces of ...
Category
Early 20th Century Indonesian Other Masks
Materials
Wood
Antique Chokwe Mask, Central African, Carved Hardwood, Tribal, Victorian, C.1900
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique Chokwe mask. A Central African, carved hardwood tribal face mask, dating to the late Victorian period, circa 1900.
Fascinating t...
Category
Late 19th Century African Late Victorian Antique Masks
Materials
Hardwood
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
Kuba Bwoom Mask
Located in Austin, TX
Residing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Kuba people are true artisans whose craftsmanship fueled traditional rituals, performances, and storytelling. Natural materials, in this case cowrie shells, hold a long history of use in African art often associated with beauty and spirituality. The Bwoom mask...
Category
Mid-20th Century Congolese Masks
Materials
Copper
$648 Sale Price
64% Off
Baule Painted Ram Mask
Located in Chicago, IL
The Baule people of the Ivory Coast used ram masks in secular, public performances. Realistically carved, and wonderfully decorated, they were designed to draw attention and enhance ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Ivorian Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
Japanese Signed Showa Hand Carved Wood Noh Theater Mask of Demon Hashihime 橋姫
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful, wonderfully crafted, grotesquely alluring mask made for Japanese Noh theatre.
The mask is handcrafted and hand-carved from natural wood and is signed by the maker.
Th...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Showa Masks
Materials
Wood, Paint
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
$18,750
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
$575 Sale Price / set
35% Off
Chinese Folk Wood Dance Mask with Smiling Expression Traces of Paint from China
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Carved wood dance mask from China with smiling expression, large square hat or headdress. Traces of many layers of paint, including red, blue, black and white pigments. Darkened pat...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
$760 Sale Price
20% Off
Older Yoruba African Carved and Painted Mask, Labeled
Located in Bridgeport, CT
An older small scale mask carved and painted white (now worn) with painted blue and black features and a black top knot. Marked on interior tape, “Yoruba”. The Mask with good age, fa...
Category
Mid-20th Century African Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
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
Black Faun Wall Decorative Ceramic Mask circa 1950 French Midcentury
Located in Neuilly-en- sancerre, FR
Wall ceramic mask, circa 1950
French midcentury ceramic mask with elegant black ceramic glaze color.
Original perfect conditions
Measures: Height 24 cm, large 22 cm, depth 7...
Category
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Masks
Materials
Ceramic
Chinese Folk Wood Dance Mask with Open Eyes Red Lips Traces of Paint China
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Carved hard wood dance mask from China with powerful expression, open eyes. Traces of many layers of paint, including red, green, black and white pigments.
Ex- private collection in...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
$937 Sale Price
25% Off
Dance mask, Kifwebe, Songye, Congo
By Songye Tribe
Located in Stockholm, SE
Dance mask/ sculpture. Known as a Kifwebe mask. Songye. Carved wood. 20th century.
With a few flaws and repairs.
Category
20th Century Congolese Masks
Materials
Wood
Contemporary Folk Art Style Wood Mask
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Exceptional hand carved wood mask with graphic elements, made of a single piece of wood and was made for decorative purposes. Very intriguing and...
Category
20th Century African Masks
Materials
Wood, Lucite
Japanese Asian Wood Shi Shi Shishi Mai Lion Dance Gashira Noh Mask Sculpture
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful, beautifully crafted Japanese festival Shishi Lion Dance (Shishi Mai) mask (Gashira).
The shishi mask represents a mythical lion that prote...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Showa Masks
Materials
Wood, Lacquer, Paint
Set of Three, Vintage, French, Pierrot Boudoir Doll Faces from the 1920s
Located in Vienna, Austria
What a wonderful discovery, rare Pierrot doll faces from the 1920s . All three pieces are in very good condition with minor age related flaws. These fabri...
Category
1920s French Modern Vintage Masks
Materials
Textile
$1,038 Sale Price / set
26% Off
Antique Set of Mexican Papier-Mâché Masks 3
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1960. We offer this antique set of 6 Mexican papier-mâché masks 100% handmade and paited with anilina (natural pigments).
Category
1960s Mexican Folk Art Vintage Masks
Materials
Paper
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
$332 Sale Price
25% Off
Japanese Signed Hand Carved Wood Noh Theater Mask of Chujo, Early Showa Period
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful, wonderfully crafted, alluring mask made for Japanese Noh theatre.
The mask is handcrafted and hand-carved from natural wood and is signed by the maker, clearly a mast...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Showa Masks
Materials
Wood, Paint
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
$1,500 Sale Price
45% Off
Balinese Hand-carved Mask Depicting Mythological 'Rangda' Demon Queen, c. 1900
Located in Jimbaran, Bali
This hand-carved mask originates from the island of Bali and depicts Rangda, the Demon Queen of Balinese Hindu Mythology. This mask would've been used in ceremonies and/or dance perf...
Category
Early 20th Century Balinese Other Masks
Materials
Wood
Indonesian Wood Mask, Mid-20th Century
Located in New York, NY
A vintage theater mask from Bali, Indonesia, circa 1975-1980.
Polychromed hand-carved teak, mounted on a black metal stand.
This type of mask is used at Indonesian Topeng or Mas...
Category
1970s Indonesian Tribal Vintage Masks
Materials
Teak
Old Stone Axe With Carved Face, Pierced Nose, Papua New Guinea on custom Base
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Early hand carved stone axe with face, long nose with pierced nostrils, framed by loose oval form. Round eyes and slit mouth. Old worn surface.
8 1/2 inches high, early to mid 20th...
Category
Mid-20th Century Papua New Guinean Tribal Masks
Materials
Stone
Baga Altar Figure or Mask Guinea
Located in San Mateo, CA
Baga anok altar mask from Guinea. This is probably last quarter of the 20th century and made for the collector market. Large piece and great form.
Category
Late 20th Century Guinean Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
Vintage Mid Century Italian Clay Mask
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Beautiful and simple sculptural clay mask made in Italy.
Hand made in a rich earth tone base peppered with color. Sure to bring life to any room.
Has a natural organic rope to be...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Masks
Materials
Clay, Rope
19th Century Japanese Meiji Iki mask
Located in London, GB
19th Century Japanese Meiji Iki mask
A Japanese Meiji period Iki mask dated from the late 19th Century, depicting a dynamic expressive human face, with glass eyes and hair and a burn...
Category
Early 1900s Japanese Victorian Antique Masks
Materials
Gesso, Wood
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...
Category
20th Century Swiss Tribal Masks
Materials
Bone, Wood
Mid 20th Century Hand Carved African Fertility Mask, Akan People
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
A very decorative fertility mask by the Baule tribe, associated with the Akan people who live both in Ghana and in the Ivory Coast. The sides with three...
Category
Mid-20th Century Ivorian Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
Ceramic Mask by Gilbert Portanier, 1979
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Gilbert Portanier, mask
France, Vallauris, 1979.
Signed
Unique piece
Enameled ceramic mask with a polychrome decoration.
Nose, arches and beard in relief and two slits to crea...
Category
20th Century French Beaux Arts Masks
Materials
Ceramic
African Nafana Bedu Large Moon Plank Zoomorphic Geometric Wood Sculpure Mask
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful, quite large and heavy, colorful Bedu plank mask by the Nafana (Senufo) tribe who reside in the central north-west of Ghana and the north-east of...
Category
20th Century Ghanaian Masks
Materials
Wood, Paint
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
Antique Mexican Demon Mask
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
We offer this rare antique Mexican Demon mask in wood, circa 1970. The mask makes a sound when moved.
Category
1970s Mexican Folk Art Vintage Masks
Materials
Wood
African Basuku Helmet Mask
Located in Chicago, IL
During their five hundred year history in the Southern Congo, the Basuku tribe developed a series of intricate rituals built around their skilled mask makers. This particular example was most likely carved in the likeness of a deceased chieftain. The artisan intentionally pronounced the eyes, cheeks, and chin to provide a terrifying test for young men as they underwent their rites for manhood. The Basuku's spiritual expressions inspired early 20th century western painters...
Category
20th Century Congolese Tribal Masks
Materials
Wood
Antique Set of Mexican Papier-Mâché Masks 2
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1960. We offer this antique set of 5 Mexican papier-mâché masks 100% handmade and paited with anilina (natural pigments).
Category
1960s Mexican Folk Art Vintage Masks
Materials
Paper
1950's Dogon African Dancing mask
Located in Dallas, TX
950's Dogon African Dancing mask with stand
Category
1950s African Vintage Masks
Materials
Wood
African Salampasu Helmet Mask
Located in Astoria, NY
African Salampasu Helmet Mask, carved wood, copper, and raffia, together with metal stand. Mask: 25" H x 10.75" W x 9" D. Provenance: From a Sutton Place Estate.
Category
Early 20th Century Congolese Masks
Materials
Copper
$2,240 Sale Price
20% Off
A Kuosi society elephant mask
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Bamileke, Cameroon, early 20th century
Among the Bamileke people, only members of the Kuosi society (the elephant society) are permitted to perform elephant masquerades, symbolizing...
Category
Early 20th Century Cameroonian Masks
Materials
Cotton, Beads
Large Vintage Latin American Hispanic Devil Diablo Folk Art Mask with Horns
Located in Studio City, CA
A fantastic piece. Really quite unique. We have not seen another quite like it.
Made from heavy wood and features real horns.
Likely South or Central American or perhaps from Mexico.
Has clear signs of use and age so we are estimating early to mid-20th century.
Would make for a terrific addition to any folk or tribal mask collection...
Category
Mid-20th Century Mexican Folk Art Masks
Materials
Paint, Wood
Beaded Royal Headress with Leopard Figure, Bamileke People, Cameroon
Located in Leuven , BE
The Beaded Royal Headdress is made of a palm tree fibre structure, enfolded with burlap cloth embroided with European glass beads that cover the entire object with geometric symbolic...
Category
20th Century Cameroonian Masks
Materials
Organic Material
African Futurist Black Tribal Mask by Bomber Bax
Located in Milano, IT
Contemporary African single mask created by the artist Bomber Bax.
The mask dates back to the early 1900s and was subsequently processed and painted in late 2022 by the artist.
The...
Category
Early 1900s Congolese Tribal Antique Masks
Materials
Wood
$2,359 Sale Price
20% Off
Egyptian Mummy Mask, Late Period, ca. 700-30 B.C.
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
Carved hardwood mummy mask having a pink-brown painted ground, painted black eyes and brows. Wearing a black headband. Eyes and brows are restored. Scattere...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Antique Masks
Materials
Hardwood
Woven Painted Basketry Old Yam Mask with Sculptural Bird Face, Papua New Guinea
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Early woven painted basketry yam mask from Papua New Guinea. Bug eyed or bird faced mask with heavy incrustation from many years of use, a striking mask that ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Papua New Guinean Tribal Masks
Materials
Organic Material
$942 Sale Price
35% Off
Javanese Hand-Crafted Wayang Topeng Theatre Mask, Indonesia, Early 20th Century
Located in Jimbaran, Bali
This early 20th century ‘Wayang topeng’ mask was used in Javanese masked dance performances.
Measures: Height with stand 47cm; Height 18cm x Width 14cm...
Category
Early 20th Century Indonesian Other Masks
Materials
Wood
Woven Painted Basketry Old Yam Helmet Mask Sculptural Face Papua New Guinea
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Woven painted basketry yam helmet style mask from Papua New Guinea. Hollow woven form with traces of red and white pigments. Would have been put on top of a large yam as a part of th...
Category
Mid-20th Century Papua New Guinean Tribal Masks
Materials
Organic Material
$617 Sale Price
35% Off
20th Century Antique Carved Wood Mask, African Art
Located in Berlin, DE
20th Century Antique Carved Wood Mask, African Art
Solid wood, hand-carved, Africa probably century
Very decorative. Comes from a Berlin private collection.
Category
20th Century African Masks
Materials
Wood
Large Woven Painted Basketry Wall Mask Blackwater Rivers, Papua New Guinea
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Large woven painted basketry wall mask created in Blackwater Rivers area, Papua New Guinea. With open expressive mouth and mask fringed with feathers, striking mask that easily hang...
Category
Mid-20th Century Papua New Guinean Tribal Masks
Materials
Organic Material
$1,715 Sale Price
30% Off
Geisha Wig & Nô Theater 2 Mask
Located in Paris, FR
Mask Geisha Wig & Nô Theater 2, with real natural hair Geisha wig
on head model and with Nô Theater natural wood mask.
Base: 28,5x26,3cm.
Category
1950s Japanese Vintage Masks
Materials
Wood
Japanese Signed Showa Hand Carved Wood Noh Theater Mask of Buddhist Monk Shunkan
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautifully carved, wonderfully crafted, highly engaging mask made for Japanese Noh theatre.
The mask is handcrafted and hand carved from natural wood and is signed and sealed b...
Category
20th Century Japanese Showa Masks
Materials
Wood
Salampasu Mask
Located in Chicago, IL
This ceremonial African mask is linked to the Salampasu people of the Bantu ethnic group located primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Salampasu masks...
Category
Mid-20th Century Congolese Folk Art Masks
Materials
Wood, Bamboo
$980
Balinese Wood Mask, Mid-20th Century
Located in New York, NY
A vintage theater mask from Bali, Indonesia, circa 1975-1980.
Polychromed hand-carved teak, mounted on a black metal stand.
This type of mask is used at Indonesian Topeng or Mas...
Category
1970s Indonesian Tribal Vintage Masks
Materials
Teak
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.