Himalayan region. Dramatically modeled and pierced with a fierce expression, the animal head carved with flaming brows above large bulging eyes, a protruding snout with pierced nostrils, and an open mouth revealing sharp fangs and a curled tongue, flanked by funnel shaped ears to the side. Finely painted overall in black, white and red pigments with some gilt.

Provenance: A private collection in Europe, acquired in Paris on 2 May 1990 (according to Christies). Christie’s New York, 19 March 2013, lot 371 (part-lot, together with two similar masks), sold for USD 6,000 or approx. EUR 7,200 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A German private collection, acquired from the above.
Condition: Wear, natural imperfections, age cracks, fissures, nicks, scratches, and some flaking. Old repairs and touchups. Displaying superbly.

Weight: 420 g
Dimensions: Height 24 cm

The practice of mask making by the Monpas can be traced to the influence of the Tibetan culture. As early as the Neolithic age, before the creation of masks, Tibetans painted their faces with animal blood, brownish-red color, and black ash, which had an effect similar to wearing masks. Influenced by the totem worship of primitive Bonism, Tibetans started to express themselves by wearing animal masks. After the creation of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetans began to worship deities, and the image of deities started to be adopted into masks. The creation of operas promoted the development of masks, which had an innate decorative function.

The Monpa are a major people of northeastern India and one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. Most Monpas live in Arunachal Pradesh, with a population of 50,000 centered in the districts of Tawang and West Kameng. There are over 10,000 Monpa living in Tsona City in the southern Tibet Autonomous Region, where they are known as Menba.

In the 11th century, the Northern Monpas in Tawang came under the influence of the Tibetan Buddhism of the Nyingma and Kagyu denominations. At this time the Monpa adopted the Tibetan alphabet for their language mainly for religious purposes. Drukpa missionaries came to the region in the 13th century, and missionaries of the Gelug school came in the 17th century. The Monpa are generally adherents of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which they adopted in the 17th century as a result of the influence of the Bhutanese-educated Merag Lama.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related wood mask, exhibited by Rossi and Rossi, Facing the Music: Masks from the Himalayas, London, March 2009. Compare a closely related wood mask of a hog, Bhutan, in the Ogyen Choling Manor, Bhutan. Compare a closely related Monpa wood mask, Arunachal Pradesh, in the collection of the Riwatch Museum.