- Collection type
- Object
- Description
- Mask used in dances performed for curing, with holes under the eyes to enable the wearer to see. Probably Amukho (Amukku) Sanniya. [JN 15/07/2008]
- Long description
- Mask used in dances performed for curing, with holes under the eyes to enable the wearer to see. Probably Amukho (Amukku) Sanniya. One side of the mask is painted a yellow/brown colour, the other side is a dark colour. The mouth is open with a hole in the centre and carved and painted teeth. Both eyes are also open. [SM 11/07/2008]
- Geographical reference
- Cultural groups
- Sinhalese
- Person
- Field collector Frederic(k) W. de Silva
- PRM source Frederic(k) W. de Silva
- PRM source Henry Luttrell Moysey
- Date / Period
- Date made: Before 1895
- Date collected
- By 1895
- Acquisition information
- Donated: 1895
- Materials and processes
- Material Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Process Carved, Process Painted, Process Perforated
- Dimensions
- Width: max 115 mm, Length: max 168 mm
- Object numbers
- Accession number: 1895.36.3 Other numbers: 2 [on list in RDF]
- Research and responses
The following notes were taken during a visit on the 9th July 2008 by Mohan Daniel, a mask specialist from Sri Lanka. He noted that the masks were not always correctly identified with the relevant demon on the list in the RDF or the writing on the objects that was presumably written by Frederick De Silva before the objects were donated to the museum. It is unclear whether this was done deliberately to prevent the masks being used, or whether it was accidental. Mohan Daniel is currently uncertain which demon is represented with this mask, further research will be necessary to determine this. It is particularly hard to assign some masks to specific demons as they represented in different ways by different regional communities. He mentioned that masks like this were usually rubbed with an oil made from a now rare tree in Sri Lanka to act as an insect repellent. This oil leaves a shiny surface on the mask. Mohan Daniel believes that none of the masks in this collection [1895.36.1-18] were used, as they show no discolouration on the back of the mask and there are no holes to use to tie the mask onto the face. [During this visit in 2008 Daniel noted that this mask could be Amukku (Amukho) Sanniya. [JN 15/07/2008]
- Associated publications
- Illustrated in colour on page 332-333 of Les Maîtres du Désordres, edited by Josephine Chambonnière (Paris: Musée du quai Branly / Réunion des Musées Nationaux Grand Palais, 2012). Caption (same page): 'Dix-huit masques représentant les dix-huit maladies (Sri Lanka, avant 1895, 18 x 11,7 cm)'. (The eighteen masks in this collection are illustrated in accession number order, from left to right and from top to bottom of each page; the first nine on page 332 and the rest on page 333.) (Photocopy in RDF.) [FB 22/05/2013, JC 30 5 2013]
Search terms: Mask, Dance, Medicine, Religion, Medical Accessory