7 - Lakhé mask

Lakhé mask with fangs and whiskers carved in relief. Wood, fabric padding on the back, antique brown and honey-colored patina, signs of wear and age. Newar, Nepal, crafted outside the Kathmandu Valley by Newar mountain dwellers. H. 37 × W. 34 × D. 9 cm. Publication: Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert - Eric Chazot, Himalayas - Art & Shamans, Paris, LMDD, 2011, Volume II, No. 3. Exhibition: Espace Durand-Dessert, September 4, 2010, to July 31, 2011. This Lakhé mask seems to emerge like an astral face, at once ancient, theatrical, and deeply ritualistic. The intensity of the face, accentuated by the fangs and whiskers carved in relief, evokes the ambivalent nature of the Lakhé—a fierce yet protective being in Newar traditions. Created outside the Kathmandu Valley by Newar residents of the mountains, it bears witness to the spread of this figure into a harsher environment, where masked dance retains all its power of appearance.