drama mask; painted papier mache; 37 cm length; 29.5 cm width
Donor:
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Ready, Jr. Fund
Collection place:
Varanasi (city), Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh
Verbatim coll. place:
India, Uttar Pradesh, Benares
Culture or time period:
Indian
Collector:
Renaldo "Ronald" Maduro
Collection date:
January 1970
Materials:
Papier maché (painted)
Person depicted:
Hanuman (Hindu deity)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Masks (costume)
Function:
5.3 Objects relating to the Secular and Quasi-religious Rites, Pageants, and Drama
Accession date:
November 11, 1970
Context of use:
worn during performances of Ram Lila, the story of Ram; worn by men; this mask represents the monkey god, Hanuman; this god fights on the side of Rama in this play-cycle base on the epic Ramayana; played during the dasahra holidays beginning in late September; made by men.