TITLE: Yangju Byeolsandae Yeoniptal Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Korea
SUBREGION: Yangju, Gyeonggi Province
ETHNICITY: Korean
DESCRIPTION: Yeoniptal Mask
CATALOG ID: ASKR010
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Byeolsandae Drama
FUNCTION: celebration; entertainment
AGE: ca. 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: cotton hood; paint
Sandae noli is the type of masked drama in Gyeonggi Province and the Seoul region, Korea. It was historically part of seasonal village festivities. The play 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 Yeoniptal character, a high Buddhist monk with mystical powers.
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).
