Gigaku Mask of Young Persian Boy (Taikōji)
710–94
- Medium
- paulownia wood, lacquered and painted
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- Overall: 28 x 21 x 18.5 cm (11 x 8 1/4 x 7 5/16 in.)
- Culture
- Japan, Nara period (710–94)
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Japanese Art
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
This mask is for the role of the son of an old Persian widower in gigaku, a theatrical dance repertoire imported to Japan from continental Asia during the seventh century. The old man and his sons mime prayers to the Buddha. While the mask would cover the entire head of the actor, there are openings for the eyes, nostrils, and mouth.
