The Enlightened One Carved Wall Mask, Sese Wood, 45cm

A hand carved wooden wall mask in pale sese wood, 45cm tall, with a hatched band across the crown and punched dot work over the brows and cheeks. The maker named it The Enlightened One, for the pursuit of understanding and the quiet that comes with it, and the carving is worked to match. The face is long and narrow, the expression still, and the eyes are cut right through the wood so the wall behind shows at the pupils. In her own words, look beyond the face and discover the wisdom within. The wood is the thing to notice. Sese is pale when it is left alone, and most carvers stain it dark, which is what the maker has done on her Prosperity mask. This one is left close to its natural colour, so the punched dot work reads as texture rather than shadow and the piece sits better against a dark wall or dark furniture than its stained sibling does. If your wall is pale, the Prosperity mask is the one to look at instead. It is made to hang, and it is photographed hanging. It suits a living room, an office, a hallway or a gallery wall, anywhere it has enough plain space around it to be looked at properly. The maker gives the size as 45 by 15cm, about 18 by 6 inches. Every mask is carved by hand from a natural material, so the grain, the colour and the depth of the cut differ from one piece to the next and yours will not match the photograph exactly. Dust it with a dry soft cloth, and keep it out of direct sun and away from damp, which move and split wood over time.