🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Carved Wood Mask what type of mask?

[Bill Wonders]

Information on exactly what type of mask is this...,is this an older souvenir from Mexico ?
Any information is Greatly Appreciated . Thank You

 

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[Peyton Manning]

Looks pretty modern to me

 

[Red-Coat]

I like it.

Seems to be a 'devil mask', in a style traditional for Guerrero, Mexico. They're used on dance/festival occasions and characterised by a (usually) red devil face that has a lizard crawling down it. The horns (painted black on yours) are often larger and protruding; sometimes there's a pair of lizards... one on each side of the devil face.

If it were of antique vintage and had seen authentic use it would probably fetch $200-250 on a good day. They have however been made in relatively large numbers for sale to tourists since the mid-1900s. It would take some really close examination to say for sure since the tourist items are often artificially distressed to give the appearance of antiquity, but the balance of probability is that it's a repro sold for wall decoration.

 

[Bill Wonders]

Looks pretty modern to me

Hi really how modern? I bought this over 35

I like it.

Seems to be a 'devil mask', in a style traditional for Guerrero, Mexico. They're used on dance/festival occasions and characterised by a (usually) red devil face that has a lizard crawling down it. The horns (painted black on yours) are often larger and protruding; sometimes there's a pair of lizards... one on each side of the devil face.

If it were of antique vintage and had seen authentic use it would probably fetch $200-250 on a good day. They have however been made in relatively large numbers for sale to tourists since the mid-1900s. It would take some really close examination to say for sure since the tourist items are often artificially distressed to give the appearance of antiquity, but the balance of probability is that it's a repro sold for wall decoration.

Hi Thank You for sharing that valuable and helpful information. The word repro is confusing this is older then 50 years old and hand carved original out of wood not machine manufactured like souvenirs or flags in a tourist shop. This is not considered a real work of Art original carving that required talent and skills to produce this type mask?

 

[tamrock]

Where'd you buy it ?

 

[DownEast_Detecting]

what RedCoat said. Probably be hard to authenticate as an original one. I dont think anyone could do it from here, with just pictures. There are lots made throughout different times across central America.

 

[Bill Wonders]

Where'd you buy it ?

Hi in a Community flea market years back in the late 80's this was old back then.

 

[BAW]

One can often tell the older masks made for use from the newer masks made to sell as decorations by the number of holes for the attatchment strings. One made to be worn will have a hole at the top and one on each side, where a sort of harness of strings would have been put. On the oldest examples these holes would have been made by burning through the wood with a red hot piece of wire or drilled with a bow drill using a homemade bit, leaving a tapered hole. Newer examples will show a completely round hole made with a modern-style twist bit, and often only the hole at the top of the mask is present, as they are not meant to be worn, but hung on a wall. Older specimans will have the eye holes shaped with a knife. New ones made with modern tools will commonly have perfectly round eye holes just the size of a modern drill bit. One of the best ways to tell if an example was made for use is to hold it up to your face and see if the eye holes are in the right place for an ordinary human to see through, and if there is space for your nose. A few in my collection still have a wearing harness and have stains on the inside showing that they were once worn by someone with a not-overly clean nose.

 

[Bill Wonders]

One can often tell the older masks made for use from the newer masks made to sell as decorations by the number of holes for the attatchment strings. One made to be worn will have a hole at the top and one on each side, where a sort of harness of strings would have been put. On the oldest examples these holes would have been made by burning through the wood with a red hot piece of wire or drilled with a bow drill using a homemade bit, leaving a tapered hole. Newer examples will show a completely round hole made with a modern-style twist bit, and often only the hole at the top of the mask is present, as they are not meant to be worn, but hung on a wall. Older specimans will have the eye holes shaped with a knife. New ones made with modern tools will commonly have perfectly round eye holes just the size of a modern drill bit. One of the best ways to tell if an example was made for use is to hold it up to your face and see if the eye holes are in the right place for an ordinary human to see through, and if there is space for your nose. A few in my collection still have a wearing harness and have stains on the inside showing that they were once worn by someone with a not-overly clean nose.

Hi I appreciate your information...Yes this is an older mask knife made holes not drill bit size holes.,the eye hole are spaced enough to see while wearing the mask . This site woke me up to the some stuff I collected is;not pure junk ..
Thank You

 

[Red-Coat]

Hi really how modern? I bought this over 35

Hi Thank You for sharing that valuable and helpful information. The word repro is confusing this is older then 50 years old and hand carved original out of wood not machine manufactured like souvenirs or flags in a tourist shop. This is not considered a real work of Art original carving that required talent and skills to produce this type mask?

You're welcome.

I should have been clearer. Carved wooden masks like this fall broadly into one of three categories:

1) Authentically hand-made using traditional methods and materials, produced for use at festival times.

2) Authentically hand-made using traditional methods and materials but produced solely for wall-hanging (both sold generally to the local populace and for sale to tourists).

3) Non-authentically made using non-traditional methods and materials, produced solely for wall-hanging and usually specifically for market sale to tourists in more recent times.

The first category has the highest value and usually (not always) the greatest antiquity. Masks in the second category have the next highest value and may be quite old, but I would still regard them as ‘repro’ in the sense that they weren’t produced for actual use. Copies of traditional masks, as decorative works of art. I would think your mask to be in one of those two categories (not the third category) with the balance of probability for the second category. You may be able to determine whether or not that’s the case from close examination and using some of the pointers given above. It could still have moderate value, even as a ‘repro’.

 

[Emil W]

Your mask is of the 2nd type as described by Red-Coat based on what's generally considered when authenticating masks, unless there's a documented history for the piece--a provenance.

The telling features are a lack of smooth, almost polished-looking wear and darkened patina to the back where the mask would have been tied to the wearer's head, specifically in the spots where it would have been in contact with skin, sweat, and oils; and by the lack of wear to the string holes that elongate and develop a polished edge from the tightly tied cord over time.

Originals were intended for long-term use, not for a one-time occasion. This repeated use always gives a very distant finish that would be obvious, even in photos. Your photos aren't the best but I don't see this typical wear. If you can provide better images, in focus and in better light, of the back and string holes it would be more helpful and could possibly change my opinion.