Product Description

Timor Mask 2

Material: Leather
Style: Timor, probably East Timor
Size: Height 26 cm, width 22 cm (ear to ear)
Order Number: MHSTM2

Timor had a distinctive tradition of dance masks, whose origins and significance remain uncertain. Realistic masks were worn  by men to represent ancestors during dances and ceremonies, including victories in war. They were attached to a  headdress, wig or hood to hide the wearer’s identity. The whole lot was heavy. They are smooth and display cool power. They would have been worn again and again.

There is an example of a wooden one in Oceania: Art of the Pacific Islands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,  Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), Eric Kjellgren, 2007, page 244.

19th – early 20th century.

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