Traditional masks are shaped face-coverings — carved from wood, moulded from papier-mâché, or built up from clay, cloth, or leather. They are used in dance, drama, ritual, and festival. Many folk-mask traditions are also collected and displayed as art objects.
The making of a mask requires care not only in the shaping but in the painting, the decoration (feathers, beads, hair, mirrors), and the balance so that it can be worn comfortably by a performer for hours. Traditional masks depict spirits, mythological figures, animals, ancestors, and stock dramatic characters — each with its own conventional face and colour scheme. A trained maker can carve or shape a mask from memory, following patterns that go back centuries.
Explore this craft by country
Each country page describes how this tradition is practised there — its own names, materials, workshops and living makers.