Framed Korean Hahoe Mask Display Commemorating the 49th Anniversary of the Korean War
Item Details
A framed collection of nine Korean traditional Hahoetal or Hahoe composite masks mounted within a glass front shadowbox with a small commemorative plaque to the lower right. The masks each represent different characters from a traditional storytelling dance. Legend has it the original artist was tasked by the gods to carve 12 masks and he was to have no contact with people while he worked. It is said his mistress who was love struck missed him terribly and visited him peeking thru a window whereupon the artist died. Although the last three masks were lost to history, nine of the Hahoe masks have been designated as Cultural Treasures of Korea. Written in Korean each mask is identified along with the artist’s signature and seal to the lower left and a small plaque marked ‘Reception for Frederick M. Ryan, Korean War Veteran in Commemoration Forty-Ninth Anniversary of The War 1999, 6, 25 President, Mun Chong-Wan Kyongbuk Province Veterans Association’ to the lower right.
Condition
- one mask has become unglued inside the display case and will require reglued.
Dimensions
- actual dimensions
Item #
16CIN481-298
