Yangju Byeolsandae Gaksi Mask Korean

A preowned Gaksi Mask from Yangju, Gyeonggi Province. This mask represents the gaksi character, a concubine. Used as a face mask in Byeolsandae Drama during performance. Made around the 1980’s. Hand carved from wood. Covering with textile from the back of the mask. Name of the mask, as well as the mask type were hand written in calligraphy inside the mask. One of a kind. originally from Korea.

Yangju Byeolsandae Nori is Gyeonggi-do This is a mask dance traditionally performed in Yangju City , and is one of the Sandae dances performed in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions. It is characterized by the absence of female performers, and is performed with the accompaniment of Samhyeon Yukgak. Accompanied by music played on a small samhyeon yukgak ensemble, consisting of three aerophones, one chordophone, and two membranophones. It is also the longest-running mask dance performance in Korea . It can be seen as a common exaggeration characteristic of other mask dance performances, such as Songpa Sandae Nori and Toegyewon Sandae Nori, but among them, Yangju Byeolsandae Nori is the longest.

There are over 20 characters. Red, black, white and other bright colors help to identify the character, many of which appear to have deformed features. Most of them are meant to ridicule various professionals and other members of the upper class. There is the traditional cloth hood which pulls over the dancer’s head and helps to secure the mask.

It was designated as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Korea on December 7, 1964. UNESCO in 2022 Talchum was designated as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and was included along with other Korean mask dances.

Noted: For more on Korean masquerade, kindly see Jeon Kyung-wook, Korean Mask Dance Dramas: Their History and Structural Principles (Gyeonggi-do, Rep. of Korea: Youlhwadang Pub. 2005). Or, check out the link below

https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=123382

Dimensions: 4″ x 7″ x 10″

Vintage piece. Sell in used, pre-owned condition. Vintage and antique items by nature have variable amounts of wear, imperfections, signs of use, age and time. Perfectly imperfect. Condition shown as in pictures. Kindly contact us if you need more info. or detail pictures.