A Large Parcel Gilt Copper Repoussé Mask of Bhairava

NEPAL, LATE 15TH-EARLY 16TH CENTURY

Details

A Large Parcel Gilt Copper Repoussé Mask of Bhairava
Nepal, late 15th-early 16th Century
Powerfully modeled in a ferocious expression with large bulging eyes beneath furled brows centered by the third eye, with gaping mouth exposing the fangs encircled by a finely ornamented moustache and beard, surmounted by a foliate tiara with skull and serpent border, inset with rock crystal cabochons amid petal borders with some turquoise inlay remaining, the flaming hair arranged in rows of tight curls finely detailed in repoussé and centered by a crescent moon, serpent and skull, the face and ornaments richly gilt
33 in. (83.5 cm) high

Literature

Spink, Visions of Perfect Worlds, Buddhist Art from the Himalayas, 1999, cat. no. 36.

Lot Essay

Masks of Bhairava, of which this is a very finely executed and luxuriously embellished example, play an important role during the Indrajatra festival. A stream of beer is released through a tube issuing from the mouth into a crowd of celebrants, eager to receive a few swallows. The beer or wine is considered a gift of the god Bhairava himself, who is a wrathful manifestation of Shiva.
Compare related examples in the Museé Guimet, see I. Alsop, "The Masks of the Newars," Orientations, September 1993, fig. 14, p. 57; and in the Zimmerman Family Collection, see P. Pal et. al., Art of the Himalayas, 1991, cat. no. 22.

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