Busacca Gallery

This is a great old example of a handmade theater mask / Traditional Antique Chinese Opera Red Mask / Rare Regional Art / Asian / Chinese / Wood / Expressive carving, beautiful old patina, perfect condition for it’s age. These half-masks were specially made to facilitate talking and singing. Approximate age, around 200 years old. Early forms of Chinese theater are simple, but over time they incorporated various art forms, such as music, song and dance, martial arts, acrobatics, as well as literary art forms to become traditional Chinese opera. It is a composite performance art that is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more than a thousand years, reaching its mature form in the 13th century during the Song Dynasty. There are several types of Chinese masks: dancer's masks, masks for festive occasions, masks for newborns, masks designed to keep homes safe and theatrical masks. When used on the stage, masks help viewers determine, at a glance, the attributes of a theatrical character. Masks are usually made from wood. However, Chinese opera masks, possibly the style that is best known in the west, are actually painted on actors' faces.

Link: http://www.historyofmasks.net/mask-history/history-of-chinese-masks/

With masks, audience is able to read character of a role at one glance. That is possible because of strict symbolism of colors that are used for painting the masks. Red symbolizes positive values of the character such as loyalty, heroism and courage. Purple can be used instead of red but can also symbolize sophistication and justice. Black is color for characters that have integrity, that are impartial and neutral. Blue can also be a color of neutral character but can also mean wisdom, stubbornness and fierceness. Green is reserved for characters that lack self-control, that are violent and impulsive. Yellow and white paint cruel characters and characters that are hypocrites and evil.