Carlotta - the museum database

1916.09.0001 :: mask (ansiktsmask)

Object description

Name

Mask of prince (kumaarayaa). Identified as Prince Maname (Maname Kumaarayaa) also referred to as Dhanurdhara Kumaarayaa.

Context

Main character in the popular Kolam play Maname kathava, based on a Buddhist Jataka tale (birth story) named Culla-Dhanuggaha Vatthu.

Material

Wood, vel kaduru (Nux Vomica).

Iconography and colour combination

The mask comprises two main parts; the face and the crown.

Main features of the face: narrows down; glossily painted in whitish yellow; prominent sharp nose; nostrils painted red; moustache thinly drawn in black lines; mouth closed; teeth not visible; lips have been newly and crudely painted in red, using modern pigments. Eyes are carved and painted, pupils of eyes, called kalu ingiriyava, are painted in black, eyebrows indicated by slant-wise red lines and eyebrow line painted in curvature. Beneath each eye is a socket for the wearer to look through. Ears are low-cut and painted pink. A small earring, called kadukkama, is attached. Each ear is surmounted by a sculpted earwig in the form of an earlobe thus enabling the dancer to keep the mask in place.

In between the low-crown and the head is a forehead band on which is a panel of flower designs especially meant for ornamental purposes common to Sri Lankan Kandyan art.

The crown contains only half the height of a full-crown and is therefore meant for a prince. It is in the shape of a British crown and is adorned with eight bands with empty spaces, joining at the top in the form of a crest, or makuTa, also carved with eight parts. The form of the crown is not congruous with the ethnicity of the character, but it conveys the carver's idea of a coronet. But it is not a good mark of distinction, especially because the character represents an oriental prince. The borders of each band are decorated with tiny painted spots.

This mask has previously been identified as the mask of a king (cf. the Umlauff catalogue), but the half-crown suggests that it is meant for a prince.

25 01 00

Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka

Object description: (raja), Ansikte långt, med spetsig, rak näsa, vitt och med små, uppvridna mustascher; den 8-bandade kronans grundfärg är gul; det gula pannbandet hänger lappformigt förlängt ned bakom öronen. Höjd: 50 cm. Bredd: 30 cm. Ceylon.

Object description: Mask föreställande english radscha, engelsk herre

Data elements
References (1)

Inventarienummer - Beskrivs av (1)

Show only objects with images
List view
Map view

One hit

Show only objects with images
List view
Map view

Here you can leave a comment. You have to supply an e-mail, an alias and you have to accept the agreements.

Important to know about the information in the online collection database

Users of the database are warned that some records may include language or terminology dating from the 19th and 20th centuries which depicted people in ways that are obsolete and/or offensive. We are conscious that the inclusion of such terminology is problematic. As an institution, we have chosen to include this historic information in our database because it is part of the documentation for the object, photograph, or archival item. Where known, objects associated with, or photographs depicting, ritual or ceremonial activity have been hidden in the publicly accessible database as there may be restrictions relating to the age, gender, initiation and ceremonial status or clan of the person who may see them. The database may also include the names of deceased persons, which could cause sadness or distress, particularly to relatives of these people.

Click here for more information.

1916.09.0001 :: mask (ansiktsmask)

Thumbnail

Arkivdokument

Sakord

Location

Time

Person