Jester Mask

Item number 2946/98 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Pepino mask. Fabric mask with half red and half white face. The tip of the nose is painted red. The lips are pink on the red section of the face and red on the white section. White ears are stapled to the sides of the face. There are three foam triangles at the top of the head in yellow, green and pink. One half of the bottom hem on the front is stitched in black thread and the other half is unfinished.

History Of Use

La Paz's pepinos, or buffoons, are derived from the Italian Punchinello of the commedia dell'arte, which was imported into Latin America through the 18th-century Spanish court theatre. Buffoons, dressed as devils, demonic beasts etc., personify ridiculousness and stupidity, and elicit laughter to reaffirm the community's rejection of evil, anti-social behaviour, and "foreignness", while expressing its commonly held ethical aspirations and moral identity.