Re: Identify this "Shiva Mask"
Namaste SF
It looks more as the face of a Shaiva King - who is also a ShivaBhakta par excellence - and could be a real depiction from probably down South of India, probably Kannada (guess, hehe).
The artist probably meant it to be "your Shaiva friend", as the Shaivas are no doubt great friend types- they are very simple, almost to the point of gullible, yet possess a hidden greatness of a Shaiva that surpasses everything else in depth and width.
So the divinity aspect is there, but has been intentionally, as it were, put in the background lurking from there instead of shining fully up the forefront. The features are clearly corporeal, but the archetypical Shaiva "the friend" is indeed depicted successfully.
The control exerted by the artist is remarkable, but could be a skill acquired traditionally. So there is a lot behind the mask.
Things to remember:
1. Life = yajña
2. Depth of Āstika knowledge is directly proportional
to the richness of Sanskrit it is written in
3. Āstika = Bhārata ("east") / Ārya ("west")
4. Varṇa = tripartite division of Vedic polity
5. r = c. x²
where,
r = realisation
constant c = intelligence
variable x = bhakti
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