AUTHENTIC TRADITIONAL SKULL DEATH THEATER MASK BALI HANDCARVED HANDPAINTED COLLECTABLE FREE SHIPPING VALUE Start Price USD 49.99 Current Price USD 49.99 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Sunday, October 12, 2008 End Time Thursday, December 04, 2008 Location Boca raton, Fla See more about 'AUTHENTIC TRADITIONAL SKULL DEATH THEATER MASK BALI ' Description A great decoration piece that can be a superb part of a halloween costume once a year. AUTHENTIC TRADITIONAL SKULL DEATH THEATER MASK FROM BALI  USED IN BALINESE PLAYS. HANDCARVED AND HANDPAINTED WOOD PIECE, WITH MANE OF WHITE NATURAL FIBER HAIR, LIFE SIZE, CAN BE WORN ON ADULT FACE, HAS A CAP TO PLACE ON THE HEAD AND HOLD IN PLACE. JAWS ARE ARTICULATED. WE HAVE OTHER RARE THEATER MASKS THAT WE WILL BE HAPPY TO PLACE ON THE BUY IT NOW UPON REQUEST.  ALL OUR UNUSUAL HANDCRAFTED OR RARE ITEMS COME WITH PAGES OF RESEARCH, PHOTOS AND AUTHENTICITY INFORMATION CONCERNING THEM. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT BY EMAIL: CHEETAHDMR@AOL.COM.   The natural world to the Balinese is one held in balance by two opposing forces: the benign, beneficial to man, and the malign, inimical to humanity. The destructive powers of sickness and death are associated with the latter force and the evil influence of black magic. If black magic prevails, a village is in danger and extensive purification ceremonies become necessary to restore a proper equilibrium for the health of the community. Dramatic art is also a mean of cleansing the village by strengthening its resistance to harmful forces through offerings, prayers and acts of exorcism.   Balinese masks are of ancient origin and act like lightning rods in the sense that they attract the spirit of the person to be portrayed. They are sacred & are revered as such. The best ones are traditionally carved on auspicious days, and the dancers who wear them are believed to be possessed by the spirits of the masks. The Balinese believe that living masks can provide inspiration for the wearer, whether a dancer or an actor. The plot of the play or dance comes from the mask. In other words, as the Balinese say, the mask "speaks". Masks are used in dance and drama performances and are treated with a great deal of respect. ). Masks are also displayed "officially" in processions and trance rituals.   Masks are put on the head, the most sacred part of the body, and never on the ground. When not in use, they are usually kept out of sight, wrapped inside a box, which is often covered with a white cloth, for safety. Characters can be identified from the shape of the features; noble characters always wear full, refined masks; while evil is represented by bulging eyes and garish colors and large teeth. The characters are silent, but communicate using complex gestures of the hand, head and body. The story lines usually follow popular myths, or episodes from history: masks can take many forms. The sacred masks that are used in Topeng, as with all other Balinese masked performance, must be carved by revered mask makers out of a light wood called ”pule” (poo-lay) or crocodile wood, a tree that grows in cemeteries, the domain of the goddess Rangda. The whole tree isn't cut down. When the pule tree produces a knot, the mask-maker asks the spirit of the tree to be allowed to take the knot for a mask. The most difficult part of the carving is removing the back, which usually takes a day and a half. Carving out the nose and getting around the knots can also be very time-consuming.  Endless sanding and at least 40 coats of paint achieve a striking surface. Mask makers have a special respected place in Balinese society, and those who carve masks for ceremonial types of masked dance do so out of live trees. The sand-papering of the average mask lasts about four hours. A plain natural wooden mask only takes around five days to treat because it is protected with just three layers of polish. On a painted mask, however, up to 80 coats (maximum number of coats in one day is four) are applied. This is really arduous work because the piece is held between the feet. For paint, calcified pigbone is used. It's pulverized for 12 hours to make a powder, then mixed with Chinese lacquer.  Finally, real hair and gold leaf may be used to embellish the mask. Once the mask is finished and before it is used by a dancer for the first time, a traditional ceremony is performed by a priest to remove the carver's spirit from the mask, enabling the dancer's spirit to enter. Our prices are started very low as we go straight to the source to find these treasures.  We have many collector items available, rare pieces from around the world from antique to more recent, designer accents, precious textiles and textile hangers, gifts, rare antique prints, authentic signed paintings  and sculptures available on a regular base in both our ebay auctions and buy it nows. S & H FREE IN USA.  Shipping abroad is more, we reduce shipping on multiple purchases.   To see pictures of our collection, go to this link below and scroll down till you get to the photos, there are a few pages of pictures & text for educational purposes that we were asked to place on this site and we add more weekly whenever we find time. You will find there photos of what we collect and sell on ebay regularely and the interesting stories behind these items we search for in remote areas of the world  http://tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=14409&forum=5 and if you want to see colorful artwork to get ideas, and ways to transform houses with no flair into Carribean hideways, check this link again on the same site for fun! :http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=16503&forum=6&4         Place a Bid!