TITLE: Yangju Byeolsandae Gaksi Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Korea
SUBREGION: Yangju, Gyeonggi Province
ETHNICITY: Korean
DESCRIPTION: Gaksi (Concubine) Mask
CATALOG ID: ASKR007
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Byeolsandae Drama
FUNCTION: celebration; entertainment
AGE: 1983
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: cotton hood; paint
Sandae noli is the type of masked drama in Gyeonggi Province and the Seoul region of Korea. It was historically part of seasonal village festivities. The drama is accompanied by music played on a small samhyeon yukgak ensemble, consisting of three aerophones, one chordophone, and two membranophones. The full performance involves dozens of characters in different masks.
This mask represents the gaksi character, a concubine.
For more on Korean masquerade, see Jeon Kyung-wook, Korean Mask Dance Dramas: Their History and Structural Principles (Gyeonggi-do, Rep. of Korea: Youlhwadang Pub. 2005).
