Considered by many collectors to be one of the most desirable pieces of Troika, and rarely available in undamaged and original condition, this T0201 Viking Mask has been decorated in deep relief on both faces by by Sally Bart who worked at the Newlyn pottery between 1975 and 1977. Sally is one of the rarer decorators whose work does not appear as often as some of the other decorators, leading us to believe that she was one of the few part time staff at the Newlyn pottery.
Despite Masks being in production until the pottery closed in 1983, at the time it was quite a poor seller and coupled with the fact that the piece is inherently unstable when stood on its base, it is not surprising that relatively few original examples exist and many that do have chips or glued sections where the mask has toppled over and broken.
Standing an impressive 10 inches tall, this example is decorated in an striking blue/green with the helmet dome in light brown and the face an overall light blue. The face guard and decoration being in ochre and dark brown. The reverse has the aztec symbology, again in light blue, brown and ochre. The whole mask is decorated in a fully matt, roughware finish so typical of Troika of this period.
In absolutely beautiful and original condition, this piece would form the centrepiece of any Troika collection. We have always struggled to find pristine or genuine examples of this highly desirable 'work of art' and prices at auction have rocketed over the past few years, even for damaged pieces. This piece is fresh to the market, and judging by the dust we carefully cleaned from the surface, has been in a cabinet and untouched for many years.
As a word of caution, take extra care if you are considering buying a Troika Mask on one of the popular auction sites. There are 'fakes' about, which are repainted biscuit-ware pieces which originated from the Donaldson collection, and also 'remoulds', which are wholly copies made by taking a latex mould from a genuine mask and then re-casting from that mould or from one of the few genuine Troika moulds that were released by the Donaldsons a few years ago. These pieces do not have the correct colour or markings, don't 'obey the rules' of decoration and were never painted by the Troika artists and decorators. They also are worth a small fraction of the value of the genuine article and are illegal to resell as Troika. If in any doubt, ask lots of questions of the seller and take professional advice. For more information on this worrying trend, have a look at our information page.
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