Dwi Naga means "two cobras", and on this Raksha mask the cobras are everywhere. A fan of hooded snakes rises on either side of a red demon face, their pale banded bellies and black heads splaying outward while their bodies curl into tight spirals at the lower edges of the side panels. A taller cobra stands over the centre of the crown, and smaller hoods crowd the brow above the eyes.
The face. Round white eyes with heavy black pupils sit under a ridged brow picked out in yellow, green and white. The mouth is packed with pointed teeth, two long white tusks curve up from the corners, and a red tongue rolls out over the chin. The snakes alternate between grey-and-white and red-and-yellow, with every scale drawn in fine crosshatching.
How it is made. The mask is built from three carved pieces, a hollowed central face and two broad side panels, fitted together and painted by hand. The back is left as bare, pale wood, with a small metal screw eye so it can hang flat against a wall.
Where it comes from. Raksha masks are the demon masks of Sri Lanka's southern coast, carried in processions and worn in folk performance. The cobra, the naga, is one of the oldest guardian figures in Sinhalese art, and a twin-cobra demon doubles that protection; families have long hung masks like this near the entrance of a home in the belief that the glare turns misfortune away. Read more about Raksha masks and Sri Lanka's mask-making tradition.
Sizes. Heights run from 15 cm (6 in) to 60 cm (24 in). Because each mask is carved and painted individually, colours and line work vary slightly from piece to piece and from the photographs. For the single-crowned version, see the Naga Raksha Mask.
