696 - Naga Raksha mask, demon mask with cobra crown and large cobra, wood, polychrome painted, Sri Lanka

Naga Raksha mask, demon mask with cobra crown and large cobra, wood, polychrome painted, Sri Lanka Wood, polychrome painted, Naga Raksha mask, Sri Lanka, red demon face with large bulging eyes with black pupils, broad nose, two small striped snakes emerging from the nostrils, open mouth with two rows of teeth and two fangs, above the forehead a diadem of yellow and red leaf arches, above it a crown of three cobras with raised hoods, above all a large rearing cobra with a yellow and black striped hood with lozenge pattern and red loops, two round discs with painted rosette as ears, cobras coiled around the ear discs, hollowed on the back with two gold-coloured metal eyelets for wall hanging, age-appropriate condition, chips, drying cracks, ear discs broken and glued, 54x52x23 cm (HxWxD) Masks with a cobra crown, bulging eyes and fangs correspond to the Naga Raksha, the snake demon of the Sinhalese mask tradition of Sri Lanka: "raksha" means demon and guardian, the demon mask is considered protective and, as a dance mask, forms the final act of the Kolam dance drama in the south of the island. The centre of mask carving in Sri Lanka is Ambalangoda, where the ritual masks are carved from light Kaduru wood, smoke-dried and brightly painted. With the hanger on the back, the cobra mask is set up as a wall mask.