Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 6. (Budapest, 1963)
HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM - MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Rásonyi, Lydia: A Demon Mask from Ceylon
of the Prague Museum. 20 Nor can the lack of the tongue of flame on the disc of the ear ornament prevent us from regarding our mask as belonging to Purnaka Yaka, since this decoration figures among the attributes of most demons. We possess little means of dating it. Scholars unanimously hold that such wooden masks cannot be of a very ancient manufacture, since the wet and hot tropical climate of Ceylon, together with the damage done by numerous insects, does not favour their preservation. In Pertold's view no mask on the island may be older than fifty years. The oldest pieces are preserved in the museums and private collections of Europe. They are, at most, 150 years of age, although the climate of our continent and the expert storage might allow the existence of even more ancient specimens. Since such masks were held in esteem, preserved and kept carefully in all ages, the survival of earlier pieces cannot be excluded. Another important basis of dating is the investigation of the paint and colours of the masks. As stated by Lucas, the paints of older specimens were extracted from vegetal or mineral materials and they had softer, darker shades. The colours of the more recent masks are lighter and more vivid, those of the most modern ones even glaring. 21 The third criterion is the size of the masks. Originally they were very large, requiring support on the shoulders and the back. Later masks became the size of a normal human head. Last but not least, the technique of carving indicates the age of the masks. The older the specimen, the more detailed and painstaking is its carving. To-day the finer protrusions, wrinkles and details of the masks are imitated by painting in the most cases. Taking into account these criteria offered by scientific literature we may regard our mask as a specimen contemporary with the oldest ones preseved in European museums, because: 1. It is of large-size 53 cm high and 58 cm wide. The person wearing it had a view through the nostrils and mouth; the mask must have been fastened to his shoulders as well. 2. Its colours are soft, painted with a mineral or vegetal material. The slightly yellowish shade of the dominant coral red colour of the mask is due to the fact that the wdiole w 7 as primed in yellow, the further red, black, green and white colours painted on this ground. The single tongues of flame on the fiery crown have a remarkably detailed and rich colouring : they are spotted with rows of small black rings, and green leaves and also by stripes, showing a transition from red through yellow to green. The centres of many tongues are embellished with black or red lineation, reminding one of the venation of leaves. The painting of the whole is characterized by the w 7 ork of a careful and experienced hand and slightly faded, soft, but also fine, harmonious colours. 3. Its carving is more painstaking than that of the later known masks. Between its teeth and lips the narrow gums, even a major wrinkle on the nose, are embossed by carving. Together with painting, the same technique emphasizes the separation of the eyelid and the orbs of the stylized and bulging eyes. The equally stylized crown of flames is an especially careful work. The tongues of flame, ending in acute angles, were individually carved to be convex or concave by the manufacturer. Very painstaking indentation was used for the details of the ornament composed of petal patterns, between the arch of the eyebrow 7 s and the crown of flames too.
