The unique and stunning masks used in Balinese rituals are explored in great detail in Balinese Masks. Masked performances are an ancient and integral part of Balinese rituals and are much more than mere spectacles for audiences. The masks serve both as visual aids in the portrayal of Bali's courtly legends and as harnessers of invisible forces. As "members of their own village communities," the masks are given a chance to "speak" and "move around" and be entertained by their human servants in parades and temple ceremonies. The great variety of Bali's masks, many of them sacred and rarely displayed, and the dance performances within which they appear, are well represented in this book. The spectacular detail and craftsmanship of the masks, revealed in Paul Schraub's stunning photographs, together with an informed text by Judy Slattum on their artistry, symbolism, religious significance, and manufacture, will take readers on a fascinating visual, spiritual, and dramatic journey into the sacred rituals of Bali. A foreword by Hildred Geertz further explains the significance of the masks and their role in Balinese village life.

6 masks with religious, folk and theatrical origins: Wayang Golek, Wayang Topeng, and Ragil Kunig masks of Java, 3 more.

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Masks are found world-wide in connection with seasonal festivals, rites of passage, and curative ceremonies. They provide a means of investigating the paradoxical problems that appearances pose in the experience of transitional states. In this far-reaching work, A. David Napier studies mask iconography and the role played by masks in the realization of change. The masks of preclassical Greece¯in particular those of the Satyr and the Gorgon¯provide his starting point. A comparison of Greek to Eastern and especially Indian models follows, and the book concludes with an examination of the interpretation of Hindu ideas in Bali that demonstrates the importance of ambivalence in mask iconography.

A lively introduction to an internationally famed still living performance art placed within its religious, cultural, historical. Over one thousand images historical, contemporary, including paintings, illustrations, maps and documents. The first book to illustrate the breadth, width and depth of centuries of Balinese mask making. The standard work on the subject