Chinese Beijing Opera Facial Make-Up Miniature Clay Mask In Gift Silk Box Ma-Wu

Description

Traditional Beijing operas singers would paint their faces for characters in the plays. Different patterns and colors signifies specific personality traits. Well known characters can be identified by their face paints even before the act starts.
This Beijing opera miniature clay mask is in a yellow silk gift box, the same kind used as jewelry boxes or for other valuables in ancient China.  Great condition, all sticker/labels are still attached Made by XingXin artware factory.
Measurement:
Box Height 2" x Width 3" x Length 3.5" (5 x 8 x 9 cm)
Mask Height 1.25" x Width 2.5" x Length 2.75" (3 x 6 x 7 cm)
From the insert:
(pardon the English translation not being prefect)
Types of Beijing Opera Facial Make-Up (in clay) Beijing opera facial make-up is a unique form of art, which has a long history and a prominent position in the realm of arts. It is a colorful branch of flower in China’s folk art.  The make-up has certain patterns, they are stylized either in the coloring or in the patterns. The facial make-up was generated and transformed from the masks worn by the dancers of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Different patterns and colors stand for the nature of different types of characters, such as red stands for loyalty and bravery, black, open-minded but rough, and white stands for crafty and malicious. Several major characters in traditional operas have stylized facial make-up. So the audience would recognize them as soon as the character appear on the stage. Such as Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Bao Zhane, Jiang Wei and Dou Erdun.
About Ma Wu
. This character was first seen in traditional Beijing Opera of Seizing Luoyang 《取洛阳》, also known as Prosperous Guangwu or Cen Ma Zheng Gong. The story tells that Liu Xiu named Deng Yu as the general to seize Luoyang; Deng learned that the chief general of the enemy is well versed in the art of war, so he provoked Cen Peng and Ma Wu to fight with each other for leading the army. He ordered Cen Peng to break off the gateway, but ordered Ma Wu to prepare wine for Cen Peng. As a result, Cen felt into an ambush and failed in the battle, and returned to their barracks. During this period, Ma Wu laughed at Cen Peng and Deng Yu, declaring that he would go to Mountain Taihang. Deng Yu punished him by hitting him with 40 sticks and cleared him out of the barracks and ordered Cen Peng to seize Luoyang once again. After the expel, Ma Wu thought out an idea of pretending giving up and made Su Xian to use means to induce him to capitulate, then Ma can turn his trick against him and induced him to open the door so that Cen Peng can take the opportunity to enter the customs and capture Su Xian alive. After that, Deng Yu came to celebrate for the achievements of Ma Wu, not until then did Ma Wu realize that these were all the ideas of prodding him into action from Deng Yu. Ma wu was a common hero, a ugly person, so the facial make-up is full of texture structure in order to show his unusual features. The antlers shaped eyebrows symbolizes that Ma Wu had a temper, confrontational, but also symbolizes that he was a true man.
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