Shiva — Painted Folk Mask

Bold in colour and fierce in presence, this folk mask depicts Lord Shiva in his most theatrical form — the yellow face, dramatic hooked nose, black moustache, and serpent-adorned crown marking him unmistakably as the Destroyer and Transformer of the Hindu trinity. The tiered jata — Shiva's matted hair — rises in layers of green, orange, and blue, with a cobra coiled at its centre, while carved ear ornaments frame the face with ritual weight. Rooted in the folk performance traditions of North and Central India, this is devotion rendered in pigment and wood — raw, exuberant, and completely without pretence.