A group of three dance masks, Bhutan or Southern Tibet, 19th century

American Private Collection formed since the 1970s.

The set includes the rare dance mask of blue Mahakala surmounted by the head of a raven (fig. 1). The raven-head is the national symbol of Bhutan and appears as the finial of the Raven Crown worn by the Bhutanese Dragon Kings. The raven-faced Kakamukha Mahakala, together with Chaturbhuja Mahakala and Palden Lhamo are known collectively as Yeshe Gonpo Jamdrel Sum and are evoked as the chief protectors of the Himalayan kingdom, see The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, 2008, p. 55.

The horned buffalo-faced mask may represent Yama, the meditation deity and Buddhist protector; and the lion-faced mask might, in the context of the group, represent Simhamukha, the meditation goddess associated with Vajrayogini practice.