mask

1916.9.283 Name and identification of character A cobra king called bhuma na-raja (Sin.). Context A demon character in stage two in a Kolam performance. Material Wood, vel-kaduru (Sin.) (Nux vomica). Iconography An expanded cobra-hood shelters a female figure. The main face, which is situated at the bottom of the mask, is broad with a half-open mouth. The face is painted reddish with light yellow jaws. Hair is registered around the mouth with black lines. A light yellow tongue. Elongated and protruding eyes. The eyebrows are ornamented with petal, pala-peti (Sin.), design painted in yellow and black. The lower jaw appears to have been movable. The ears of the main face are ornamented with intertwined snakes rising up flanking each other. The cobra figures have been used predominantly for ornamentation. Two thin cobras issue from both nostrils and rise up flanking the ears. The hoods of these cobras are held in the outstretched hands of the female figure. Her dome-shaped headdress is suggestive of a goddess. The upper part of the figure is bare, revealing a small pendant and bracelets. She wears a skirt embroidered with black spots and red line motifs. 2000 09 27 Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka