FOUR YAO CEREMONIAL MASKS AND A WREATH

Description:

China, Yao/Mien culture, Qing dynasty, 19th c.
je 20,5 x 19,5 cm (59,5 x 34,5 cm R.)/ 31 x 14,5 cm (43,5 x 31 cm)
Pigments on paper. Two masks together in a frame, the wreath framed seperately. The quasi-rectangular masks represent Tai Wei (The High Constable), Dao De (Virtueof Dao) and Yuan Shi (Lord of Primordial Beginning). The wreath is divided in six sections in shape of leaves (probably one leaf is missing).
From an old German private collection, collected before 2007 - Usual damaged due to age, creased, part. slightly wear - Cf. Jacques Lemoine: Yao Ceremonial Paintings. Bangkok, 1982: pp. 31, 152-155
The masks (Shen Tou, "Divine Heads") are an integral part of a series of Yao ceremonial paintings and should be five different masks, each depicting on of the following gods: Ling Bao, Yuan Shi, Dao De, Tai Wei, Xian Feng. Related to the masks is the wreath (Shen E) which is worn by the Hight Priest in many rituals. It is divided into seven or nine sections - each with a picture of the gods