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Welcome
to Masks of the World
These
masks are from my personal collection. Some were in Masks from Around the
World, a show at the Lancaster Museum of Art held in 2002. There are about
250 masks for sale here and they can be viewed by first
selecting a category on the left.
You will find
that some of the masks are marked "sold." I often
leave them on the site for the benefit of school children who
visit the site for world culture or art projects.
When possible,
each mask is labeled with the following information: its use,
cultural origins, size, construction materials, and price. The
size dimension is from top to bottom. For more information,
please feel free to email us.
As a graphic
designer who has pursued painting and sculpture as hobbies, my
attraction to these objects was purely aesthetic in the
beginning. I saw the masks as wonderful examples of painted
sculpture. As my collection grew, I became interested in how a
mask was used, what it represented, its history, and other
stories that surround these objects.
When understood
in their cultural context, the masks became even more appealing.
In many communities, masks played a major role in rites of
passage and in spiritual rituals, often as symbols of victory in
war or of dominion over nature. Masks are also used for theater,
movies, and during holiday celebrations. Some masks are more
mysterious, such as those produced by secret societies that make
us wonder about the masks creator, wearer, and its purpose.
The collection is
unique as it also includes modern protective masks used for
sports and specialized work. Thought to be purely utilitarian,
they can alter a human face with a statement of confidence or
aggression.
We hope you will
peruse some of the different cultural categories and their
individual mask pages, and in so doing, experience your own
virtual journey around the world.
Bob Ibold
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