What does the mask symbolize?

 

 

I've spent a little time trying to determine what exactly the mask held in the right hand of the statue symbolizes. I've come up empty. The expression is so peaceful. The expression plus the attire of the woman holding the mask persuade me that this is not a Greek muse holding a mask representing comedy or tragedy.

And the mask is too nondescript to be an "imagine." According to the Britannica, imagines preserved an ancestor's appearance as each was modeled on the features of the deceased person. Sometimes beeswax was used in order to lift and exact likeness. 

My guess is that the mask makes some reference to the theatre as Annie Pixley, the deceased, was a famous and widely respected actress.