Dancer's mask

RCIN 94620 Masks with exaggerated facial features are worn during a traditional Korean Hahoe masked dance (Cheoyongmu). There are nine characters in the dance: the bride, the scatter-brained meddler, the butcher, the old widow, the young flirt, the wayward Buddhist monk, the village fool, the aristocrat and the scholar. Each performer wears a different articulated mask, which can convey a range of emotions depending on the position of the head. This mask is for the aristocrat (Yangban). If the performer moves his head back, the lips of the mask open, making him seem to laugh.

Presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the citizens and Mayor of Andong, Jung Dong-ho, during the State Visit to South Korea in April 1999. The maker, Kim Young-hee, is a distinguished South Korean sculptress, artist and novelist.