Japanese Noh Theatre Mask – Female Character Ko-omote – Polychrome Lacquered Wood

Elegant Japanese Noh theater mask, representing a female character (Ko-Omote), traditionally used in the roles of young women (but always played by men).
Most likely 19th century or older.
Carved from very dense cypress wood and covered with polychrome lacquer, it presents refined work on the skin tones, lips and eyebrows.
The deliberately sober features express softness and restraint, faithful to the aesthetics of Noh where light and viewing angles vary the expression of the face.
It represents idealized beauty.
The exceptional dimensions (50 cm high, 29.5 cm wide, 1.4 kg) far exceed the usual formats of stage masks (20 to 25 cm), which suggests a presentation or collection creation.
The piece retains a beautiful old patina, with some wear and missing lacquer which reinforce its authenticity and character.
Japanese masks of this type are rarely available on the market in such a monumental format.
This mask constitutes both a decorative object of great presence and a collector's item.