Well modeled as a skull with large circular openings for the eyes, impressed nose, and a grotesque smile revealing a set of square teeth, flanked by neatly incised ears, the forehead with wavy lines imitating the sutures of the skull. Remnants of ritual painting.

Provenance: A private collection in the United States, early 2000s. Property of a Gentleman, acquired from the above.
Condition: Very good condition with expected extensive wear from within the culture, small dents, few nicks, light scratches, manufacturing flaws, remnants of pigment, expected tarnishing to silver. Naturally grown dark patina. The backside with fragments of ancient cords for attachment.

Weight: 241 g (excl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 20.5 cm (excl. stand)

Mounted to a modern stand. (2)

The wrathful appearance of Chitipati masks can be likened to a momento mori, acting as a reminder of death and the impermanence and emptiness of all things. These skeleton masks were worn during Tibetan ritual dance ceremonies throughout the Himalayas and Mongoli, and even today are traditionally worn during Cham ritual dances, sacred theatrical practices performed as narrative guides to Buddhist teachings. The masks themselves are meant to transform dancers into gods, in a visual display of Buddhist rituals. Chitipati, specifically, as ‘lord of the charnel ground’, are considered retinue figures to other deities.

Chitipati are a divine skeleton couple also and initially known as Shri Shmashana Adhipati, "the lord and lady of the charnel ground." They act as protector deities, particularly against thieves and grave robbers, vowing to destroy enemies of the Dharma. They are closely associated with the Chakrasamvara Tantra and visually represented as intertwined jovial skeletal figures, each holding various attributes, dancing in a halo of wild flames. Their wrathful and skeletal appearance can be likened to a momento mori, acting as a reminder of death and the temporality of all things. As macabre lords of the cremation grounds, they serve to remind Tibetans of the inevitability of death and decay, while at the same time, to celebrate one's ultimate liberation from duality. A much beloved subject in Tibetan Buddhism, the Chitipati are represented on thangkas and appliques, in sculpture, on wooden shrines and furniture, and as elaborate costumes worn during ceremonial dances (Cham), in a visual type that becomes standardized for centuries.

Memento mori (Latin for 'remember that you die') is an artistic or symbolic trope acting as a reminder of the inevitability of death. The concept has its roots in the philosophers of classical antiquity and appeared in art and architecture from the medieval period onwards. The most common motif is a skull, often accompanied by one or more bones, or a complete skeleton. Often this alone is enough to evoke the trope, but sometimes other motifs such as a coffin, hourglass and wilting flowers were added to signify the impermanence of human life.

From Leonardo to Basquiat, the most important artists of the modern world were fascinated by the Memento Mori trope. Likewise, the Chitipati are a reminder of the eternal cycle of life and death. Furthermore, there is a mind training practice in Tibetan Buddhism known as Lojong, the 'Four Contemplations to Cause a Revolution in the Mind'. The second of these four is the contemplation of impermanence and death. In particular, one contemplates that:

All compounded things are impermanent,
The human body is a compounded thing,
Therefore, death of the body is certain,
The time of death is uncertain and beyond our control.

There are a number of classic verse formulations of these contemplations meant for daily reflection to overcome our strong habitual tendency to live as though we will certainly not die today.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related wood mask of Kengpa, dated 19th century, attributed to Arunachal Pradesh or Bhutan, in the Rubin Museum of Art, accession number C2002.5.12, included in the exhibition Becoming Another: The Power of Masks, 13 March 2015-8 February 2016.