Nuo theater half mask, Guizhou province, southwest China, 19th century

Half mask from Nuo theater, Guizhou province, southwest China, 19th century.
Wood and vegetable fibers for the mustache, nice shiny dark brown patina.
Provenance: Marie Crouvisier, Paris.
Measurements : 21 cm (height).

This ritual theater mask, coming from the province of Guizhou in the southwest of China, represents with great expressiveness a smiling old man, a regular character in the Nuo theater, traditional of the rural and ethnic communities of the region. Carved from wood and preserved with a lustrous patina, this piece embodies both the technical skill of the carver and the symbolic value of the character within the sacred and festive drama.

The mask represents an old man with a benevolent character, with eyes narrowed with laughter, fine wrinkles at the corners of his mouth and a flat nose. In the context of Nuo theater, this type of character is essential: he can embody the protective ancestor, the wise counselor or even the ritual jester, in charge of mediating between the sacred and the profane through humor. The treatment of the features is naturalistic but stylized, with fine lines and soft volumes that accentuate facial expressiveness.