mask (ansiktsmask), Prince Dhanurdhara, Prince Maname

Name
Mask of prince (kumaarayaa). Identified as Prince Maname (Maname Kumaarayaa) also referred to as Dhanurdhara Kumaarayaa.

Context
Main character in the popular Kolam play Maname kathava, based on a Buddhist Jataka tale (birth story) named Culla-Dhanuggaha Vatthu.

Material
Wood, vel kaduru (Nux Vomica).

Iconography and colour combination
The mask comprises two main parts; the face and the crown.
Main features of the face: narrows down; glossily painted in whitish yellow; prominent sharp nose; nostrils painted red; moustache thinly drawn in black lines; mouth closed; teeth not visible; lips have been newly and crudely painted in red, using modern pigments. Eyes are carved and painted, pupils of eyes, called kalu ingiriyava, are painted in black, eyebrows indicated by slant-wise red lines and eyebrow line painted in curvature. Beneath each eye is a socket for the wearer to look through. Ears are low-cut and painted pink. A small earring, called kadukkama, is attached. Each ear is surmounted by a sculpted earwig in the form of an earlobe thus enabling the dancer to keep the mask in place.

In between the low-crown and the head is a forehead band on which is a panel of flower designs especially meant for ornamental purposes common to Sri Lankan Kandyan art.

The crown contains only half the height of a full-crown and is therefore meant for a prince. It is in the shape of a British crown and is adorned with eight bands with empty spaces, joining at the top in the form of a crest, or makuTa, also carved with eight parts. The form of the crown is not congruous with the ethnicity of the character, but it conveys the carver's idea of a coronet. But it is not a good mark of distinction, especially because the character represents an oriental prince. The borders of each band are decorated with tiny painted spots.

This mask has previously been identified as the mask of a king (cf. the Umlauff catalogue), but the half-crown suggests that it is meant for a prince.

25 01 00
Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka

1916.9.1

Name and identification of character
Kolam mask depicting a prince, kumaraya (Sin.). The prince is identified as Prince Maname, Maname Kumaraya (Sin.) also referred to as Dhanurdhara Kumaraya (Sin.).

Context
The main character in the popular Kolam play Maname kathava (Sin..), based on a Buddhist jataka tale (birth story) named Culla-Dhanuggaha Vatthu (Sin.).

Material
Wood, vel-kaduru (Sin.) (Nux vomica). Painted with traditional pigments.

Comments on the Umlauff Catalogue
This mask is identified as the mask of a king in the Umlauff Catalogue, but the half-crown suggests that it is meant for a prince.

25 01 00
Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka