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Mountain Gate Series #1: Xi Wang Mu
Xi Wang Mu's face is handwoven of dry-spun natural linen warp and a weft of white Maine island sheep's wool. Brows, nose and ears include soumak and crochet. The face is then felted onto a headdress expressive of the spiritual quality of this ancient Chinese shaman, the great grandmother of the Tao.
Xi Wang Mu, one of my favorite of all my Zati masks, was a mystic shaman from more than 5,000 years ago in western China. She was a weaver of masks which she created on a loom in her lap, a singer a healer. She lived under a tree on Wu Mountain. She embodied the love that is the power of the feminine Divine. She trained many female shamans, whose work carried on her story and traditions, evolving into what we know as the Tao.
18 x 31 x 12 in
$7000
Detail of the face showing the three-dimensional woven textures. The soumak technique of wrapping warp threads imparts additional dimensionality to the face.